


Catching Fireflies

by notallballs (notallbees)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bullying, Crushes, First Kiss, First Time, Flirting, Fluff, High School, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pining, Senpai-Kouhai Relationship, Shoujo, Slow Burn, Slurs, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 08:53:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 29,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23968678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notallbees/pseuds/notallballs
Summary: A blush crawled over the back of Tooru's neck as he remembered how it had felt to look up and see Iwaizumi standing at the microphone, hastily tucking in his shirt at a severe look from a teacher. Tooru hadn't seen him in a long time, but back when Iwaizumi was still a third year in Kitagawa Daiichi, Tooru would sometimes sneak into the gym to watch volleyball practices. Iwaizumi had been good back then; Tooru would be willing to bet he wasamazingnow.Tooru has always looked up to third year Iwaizumi Hajime; he's handsome, popular, not to mention captain of the volleyball team. But Tooru's just a first year, and a nerd to boot. Why would someone like Iwaizumi ever be interested inhim?
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 410
Kudos: 657
Collections: Iwaoi





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay I started this a really long time ago, and I'm really gonna do my best to finish it! I missed writing iwaoi for you all :3c
> 
> This fic is also known as "the jocknerd romance". It's very self-indulgent. Please enjoy.

It was the second week of school, and Tooru's classroom buzzed with excitement. They were fresh from the whole school assembly, where all the after school clubs and sports teams had put forth their pleas for new members. 

"What clubs are you going to join, Oikawa-kun?" asked Fujimoto, who sat in front of him, and who wore her hair in two perfectly straight plaits. 

"I'm not sure yet," he evaded, turning to her. "What about you, Fujimoto-san?"

Fujimoto giggled and looked away. "Oh...I haven't decided," she said, fluttering her hands in front of her. "Maybe...drama? Or kyudo seems fun. I've always wanted to try archery."

"Mm," Tooru hummed, noncommittal. "You should choose something you enjoy."

She nodded seriously. "That's good advice, I will!"

"Oh, Fujimoto-san!" another of the girls called out. "Are you going to join the art club?"

Tooru breathed a sigh of relief as his classmate turned away to speak with another student. He'd decided even before the assembly that he was going to join the science club, and he'd fidgeted through most of the presentation that morning, at least until the volleyball team regulars took the stage. A blush crawled over the back of Tooru's neck as he remembered how it had felt to look up and see Iwaizumi standing at the microphone, hastily tucking in his shirt at a severe look from a teacher. Tooru hadn't seen him in a long time, but back when Iwaizumi was still a third year in Kitagawa Daiichi, Tooru would sometimes sneak into the gym to watch volleyball practices. Iwaizumi had been good back then; Tooru would be willing to bet he was _amazing_ now. He hoped his mother would let him go and watch their games. 

"Oikawa-kun! What do you think about the calligraphy club?"

After school, Tooru waited until the girls had all gotten distracted and left, before picking up his bag and walking to the science club room. It was on the top floor of the activities building, and he had to pass through the link bridge between the two buildings to get there. As he stepped through the double doors, someone pushed through the other set of doors opposite. Tooru's breath caught as he recognised Iwaizumi ambling toward him, but the other boy didn't even seem to notice him. He was whistling tunelessly under his breath, and as they passed each other, the warm scent of him wafted over Tooru, turning his knees weak.

 _Get a grip_ , Tooru told himself sternly, before picking himself up and making his way to the club room. 

—

A week passed, in which Tooru sat through his lessons, ate lunch with the girls in his class, and went to his first two meetings of the science club. There were only six other members in the club; the president, a third year girl who wanted to be an astrophysicist, and five second year boys who all treated Tooru with polite wariness. Fujimoto had eventually settled on joining the calligraphy club, claiming she was no good at science. But, since their meetings ran at the same time as the science club, she had suggested that she and Tooru walk home together on those days.

Every spare moment he had, Tooru spent reading, or scribbling in his notebook. Once or twice he thought about sneaking into the gym to watch the volleyball team practice, but when he showed up there after class the following Monday, he found only an empty gym, and trudged home alone, disheartened. 

Fujimoto accosted him on his way out of the classroom two days later. "Oikawa-kun!" she said, beaming at him.

"Hi, Fujimoto-chan," he replied brightly. "Congratulations on that English test."

"Oh," she said, turning pink. "Well...I feel like I cheated a bit. My cousins are American, so I already know a lot of English."

"You still did well to get the top score," he said, with an encouraging smile. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

Fujimoto glowed. "Oikawa-kun, um—I have to go to the bakery to pick something up for my mom. Do you want to come?"

Tooru pondered this for a split second. He had a rare night of freedom; no club, no cram school, and he didn't need to watch Takeru. He'd been planning on watching a movie once he'd finished his homework, but maybe he could still fit it in if he didn't take too long at the bakery. 

"I'll treat you," Fujimoto wheedled, apparently taking his silence as reluctance. 

"Okay," he said, nodding. "Sounds good."

"Great!" she said, bouncing on the spot. "Don't tell me your favourite—let me try and guess."

Tooru laughed. "Okay. What's your favourite, Fujimoto-chan?"

They chattered as they walked down to the entrance hall and changed into their outdoor shoes. It had rained earlier that day, but now the sky was clear and bright, the pavements just slightly damp. 

"I should let my mother know," Tooru said, reaching for his phone. 

"Will she mind?" Fujimoto asked, eyes widening. 

But Tooru didn't hear her, too busy scrabbling at his pockets. "Crap, I left my phone in my desk," he said, taking a few steps back toward the school building. "You go, we'll go to the bakery another day."

"Are you sure?" Fujimoto called after him. "I can wait!"

"I'll be fine!" Tooru called back, waving over his shoulder as he started to jog back to the school. 

There were still a few people milling about in the entry hall, but Tooru managed to squeeze through to his shoe locker and quickly changed out for his pumps again. Clutching his bag, he sprinted along the empty hallway toward his classroom, but just as he turned the corner he saw a large shape loom up ahead of him. It was too late to stop, and before he had time to react, he collided heavily with the other person and a moment later found himself sprawled on his back, blinking up at the fluorescent lights overhead. His butt hurt where he'd landed on it, and his right wrist felt strange and numb. 

"Woah, Iwaizumi—" said an unfamiliar voice above him. "You sent him flying." 

"Shit, are you okay?" An arm reached down to him, and Tooru blinked up stupidly at the dark silhouette above him. He realised his glasses had fallen off. "Can you get up?"

"My glasses," Tooru murmured, reaching out to pat the floor around him.

The shape bent over, and then pressed Tooru's glasses into his hand. "Here you go."

"Thanks," he said, putting them on and finally looking up into the face of his assailant. His eyes widened when he saw who it was, his pulse jumping in his throat. Of all the people he could've crashed into, it was Iwaizumi Hajime. 

"Come on," Iwaizumi said, reaching his hand out again.

Tooru lifted his arm to take the offered hand, but standing wasn't as easy as he'd expected. He stumbled trying to get his feet underneath him, and a strong pull on his wrist made him cry out in pain. Iwaizumi released him, and he fell back onto the floor again. 

"Oh shit, sorry. Are you okay? Did I hurt you?" 

Tooru gathered his injured wrist close to his chest. "I'm fine." 

"Are you sure?" Iwaizumi repeated, crouching beside him and staring at him intently. His eyes flicked down to Tooru's wrist, which he was still clutching to his chest. "Did I hurt your arm?"

Swallowing thickly, Tooru shook his head. He didn't trust himself to speak. 

Iwaizumi was looking at him with a severe expression, his brows drawn into a frown. "Are you sure? Can I take a look?" He reached out, and Tooru didn't resist as Iwaizumi took hold of his arm again, holding him gently by his elbow and the heel of his hand. He turned it slowly, frown deepening. "You landed on your hand?" 

"Um…yeah," Tooru said, not daring to pull his arm away. "It's okay though."

"I think you should go to the nurse's office, just to make sure." 

"Iwa, come on," said Iwaizumi's companion. "We're gonna be late." 

"Go ahead," Iwaizumi said, still examining Tooru's wrist. "I'm gonna take him to the nurse."

Tooru gaped at him. "What?" 

"Tell Coach Irihata I'll be late," Iwaizumi said to his friend, who cast a slow-eyed look in Tooru's direction. The other boy was even taller than Iwaizumi, and towered over Tooru. 

The boy shrugged. "Alright. But don't be too long. Coach will be mad if we have to push back the practice match." 

"So start without me," Iwaizumi said, scowling at him. "Someone else can take my place."

The other boy's thick eyebrows disappeared beneath his shaggy fringe. He glanced at Tooru, who blanched and pulled his hand free of Iwaizumi's gentle grasp, then back at Iwaizumi. "Fair enough. But don't say I didn't warn you." 

Iwaizumi waved him off, and turned back to Tooru once they were alone again. "Think you can get up?" he asked.

Tooru couldn't help wondering what Iwaizumi would do if he said no, but he hadn't suffered much beyond his damaged pride. He shook his head dumbly in answer to Iwaizumi's question. 

"Oh, uhh—you want me to carry you then?" 

Tooru's eyes widened. "No!" he said quickly. "I mean—I can walk."

"Alright then," Iwaizumi said, looking nonplussed. He held out his hand again, reaching for Tooru's left arm this time, and with his help Tooru struggled to his feet. But when he tried to take a step, his right knee gave out under him and he stumbled. "Woah there," Iwaizumi said, tightening his grasp on Tooru's arm. "Careful." 

"Sorry!" Tooru yelped. He tried to straighten his leg, but it didn't want to cooperate. "I must have just knocked it." 

Iwaizumi shook his head. "It was my fault, don't apologise." He set Tooru upright, then turned and crouched down. "Hop on, I'll carry you there."

Tooru stared. A humiliated flush tore across his face. "You don't need to—" 

"Just let me take you," Iwaizumi insisted, glancing over his shoulder at Tooru. "The sooner we get there, the sooner you can get home."

Tooru only hesitated for a moment longer; his knee still felt weak, and his wrist had started to throb. Swallowing a sigh, he moved closer to Iwaizumi and looped his arms around the older boy's shoulders. Iwaizumi reached back, wrapping his arms around Tooru's thighs, then he stood up again, lifting Tooru with him and pulling Tooru's legs tight around his hips. 

"Okay?" 

Tooru had gone bright red, both mortified and thrilled by this turn of events, and he mumbled a quiet affirmative. 

It didn't take long for Iwaizumi to carry him to the nurse's office, and Tooru wished he could've enjoyed it more, but he was too distracted by the rhythmic throbbing in his right arm, not to mention his lingering embarrassment. Tooru wasn't the smallest boy in his year group, but he was one of the skinniest, and he couldn't help but be ashamed of how easily he'd been knocked down. 

The nurse was just closing up her office when they arrived, and she gave Iwaizumi a flat look when she recognised him. 

"Iwaizumi-kun," she said, frowning. "Isn't it a bit early in the semester for you to be darkening my doorway?" 

"Not here for me this time, Sakamoto-sensei," Iwaizumi said, hitching Tooru up against his shoulders. "We had an accident in the hallway. My fault." 

"Alright, bring him in," the nurse said, gesturing for Iwaizumi to follow her. She crossed the small office and patted one of the two beds. 

Iwaizumi crouched to set Tooru down gently on his feet, then took his elbow and guided him over to the bed. 

"And who do we have here?" the nurse asked Tooru as he hopped up onto the bed. She glanced at Iwaizumi. "Is he one of yours?" 

Iwaizumi shook his head. "We just met." 

Tooru cast a nervous glance between them. "Oikawa Tooru," he murmured. 

"Well, Oikawa-kun, what happened to you?"

"It was my fault," Iwaizumi put in before he could speak. "I was running to get to practice on time, and I knocked him over." 

The nurse tutted at him. "I thought we'd settled the matter of you running in the hallways, Iwaizumi-kun," she said with a disapproving look. "I thought you'd learned your lesson after that sprained ankle." 

Iwaizumi grimaced and shifted his weight. "That was ages ago," he grumbled. 

"Mm," the nurse hummed, unconvinced, before turning her full attention to Tooru again. "So, where does it hurt?" 

"He fell on his wrist," Iwaizumi said. 

"Thank you, Iwaizumi-kun," the nurse said crossly, "but I'm sure Oikawa-kun can speak for himself. I believe you have somewhere else to be."

Iwaizumi's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah—uh, sorry." He started to head toward the door, throwing Tooru one last backward glance before exiting the office. 

"Alright," the nurse said, once he'd closed the door. "Let's see that wrist, Oikawa-kun."

Tooru looked up at her, chewing his bottom lip. "It wasn't his fault," he burst out in the face of her expectant expression. "It was my fault, I was the one who was running."

The nurse looked unimpressed. She held out her hand. "Your wrist, please, Oikawa-kun."

Cowed, Tooru lifted his injured arm and watched as she peeled back his sleeves. She moved it this way and that, getting him to turn his hand and wiggle his fingers, asking him questions as she did so. Finally she nodded and released him.

"Just a light sprain," she said, smiling. "It will be painful for a couple of weeks, but then good as new." 

Tooru sagged with relief. His mother wouldn't have been impressed if he'd broken his arm, especially so soon into the semester. 

"Do you write with that hand?" the nurse asked. 

"Oh…yes," Tooru said, his heart sinking. "Will that be a problem?" 

She shook her head. "You need to rest it for a few days, but after that you should be able to use it, just not too much. I'll write you a note, so that your teachers know you can't do too much writing for a week or two. You'll need to ice it and exercise it too, so listen up."

Tooru didn't bother trying to tell her that he'd had the same kind of injury before, just listened meekly while she explained. He left her office ten minutes later with his arm bandaged and tied in a sling, and several notes of paper clutched in his other hand—one to show his parents, one for his teachers, and one giving instructions for taking care of his wrist. To his surprise, Iwaizumi was waiting outside the nurse's office for him, and he strode over when he saw Tooru emerge. 

"What did Sakamoto-sensei say?" Iwaizumi asked, eyeing Tooru's sling with a wary expression. "It's not broken, is it?"

"Oh…no," Tooru said, his cheeks flushing hot again. "She said it's a sprain. I have to put ice on it."

"Oh, good," Iwaizumi said, sagging. "I'm glad it's not broken."

Tooru nodded, and shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Um…"

"I'm really sorry for knocking you down like that," Iwaizumi said, watching him earnestly. "Does it hurt a lot?" 

The nurse had given Tooru some painkillers, but they had yet to take effect, and his wrist ached powerfully. He didn't want Iwaizumi to know that however, so he affected a shrug and tried to seem casual. "It's not so bad."

Iwaizumi smiled at him. The sight of it made Tooru's stomach flutter. "I'm glad. I'm Iwaizumi Hajime by the way. And you're Oikawa, right?" 

Tooru stared back at him, eyes wide. "Um, yeah."

"Hey, uh—didn't you used to go to Kitagawa Daiichi?"

Tooru was stunned into silence. Wordlessly, he nodded again. 

Iwaizumi's smile widened. "I thought you looked familiar. There's quite a few people on the team from Kitadai. Uh, the volleyball team that is. I'm the captain." 

Tooru's eyes widened again. "Weren't you supposed to be at practice?" 

"Uh," Iwaizumi said, his smile dropping. He put his hand to the back of his neck, grimacing. "Yeah, but…I had to make sure you were okay. It's my fault you got hurt." 

"But I was the one running!" Tooru protested. 

Iwaizumi snorted. "Yeah, I'm guessing you won't do that again in a hurry." 

Chastened, Tooru lowered his head. "Sorry."

"Forget it," Iwaizumi said, laughing softly. He reached out, and Tooru's eyes widened as Iwaizumi's hand settled heavy on top of his head, and ruffled his hair. "Can you get home okay?"

Tooru didn't really want to walk home like this, with his arm in a sling, but he didn't want to tell Iwaizumi that. He thought about calling his mother, then remembered with a start the reason he'd been running in the first place. "I'll be fine," he said, attempting a smile. 

"Great," Iwaizumi said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "I'd better get to practice before I get myself in even more trouble, but you be safe, yeah? Call one of your parents or something."

"I will," Tooru said, nodding eagerly. He watched as Iwaizumi started off down the hallway, and his stomach clenched when the older boy glanced over his shoulder and waved.


	2. Chapter 2

Tooru's mother tried her best to make him stay home from school the following day, but Tooru kicked up such a fuss that she was finally forced to relent. She still insisted on driving him to the school gates herself, and he couldn't deny that a little part of him was pleased at the special treatment. 

"Now, remember that you can call me to come and get you if you need, Sweetheart," she murmured, reaching out to brush a curl of hair across his forehead. "And don't forget to go and get another ice pack from Nurse Sakamoto when you need it."

"I won't, Mama," he said brightly. He leaned over to kiss her offered cheek, then opened the car door and climbed out. 

His arm was strapped in the sling once more, making him awkward and unbalanced, but it was better than having it in a cast. It was awkward trying to change his shoes with only one working arm, but he managed it finally, and by the time he reached his classroom he'd already attracted a crowd of inquisitive followers. 

"Does it hurt, Oikawa-kun?"

"How did you do it?"

"Do you want me to take extra notes for you?"

"I'll take notes too!" 

Tooru laughed off most of their questions, playing down his injury and doing his best to get to his seat without attracting more attention, but all eyes seemed to be on him as he made his way across the classroom. He set down his school bag and took his seat at the back of the class, only to find himself faced with Fujimoto's horrified expression. 

"What happened?" she gasped. 

"Oh...hi, Fujimoto-chan," he said.

More curious faces gathered, and he winced as he realised he wasn't going to get away with not telling them anything. 

"Ah, well," Tooru said sheepishly, and began to spin some story about how he'd fallen in the hallway, playing down Iwaizumi's role in his injury. It wasn't so much that he was embarrassed, although that was a factor, but he felt foolishly as though he wanted to keep the experience to himself. Besides, he doubted anyone would believe him that Iwaizumi Hajime, volleyball golden boy and patron saint of just about every sports club in the whole school, had given _Tooru_ a piggyback. Tooru was a nobody. 

"It looks like it hurts," Fujimoto said, grimacing.

"It's not so bad," Tooru said, smiling at her. 

"I feel bad for leaving you alone," she confessed, twirling a long strand of hair between her fingers. "I should have come with you, then maybe you wouldn't have gotten hurt."

Tooru shook his head. "It's not your fault, Fujimoto-chan! Anyway, it'll be better soon. It looks worse than it is."

"Oh," she sighed, looking relieved. "That's good to hear."

"Attention please, Class!" their teacher called, striding into the classroom. 

Tooru slumped back in his chair, relieved to no longer be the centre of attention. 

His morning classes passed in a haze of frustration; he didn't like not being able to write, and by lunchtime his wrist was aching badly after several hours without painkillers. He slipped his arm out of its sling so he could stretch it like the nurse had instructed, then he pulled out the lunch his mother had packed for him and began to pick at it in a desultory fashion. Fujimoto had gone to the canteen to buy something to eat, while the other girls that usually talked to him had gone to investigate the art club. 

He wasn't alone for long before one of the boys in his class suddenly called out to him. "Oikawa! There's a third year looking for you!" 

Tooru sat bolt upright in his seat. "What?" His classmate pointed, and Tooru's gaze snapped over to the doorway. "Who is it?" 

"I dunno," the other boy said, shrugging. He snickered. "Maybe you're in trouble."

A bolt of fear struck through him, and Tooru swallowed thickly as he stood, pushing his glasses up his nose. The stares of his classmates were heavy on his shoulders as he walked to the door; he pushed his arm back into its sling, and tried to shove down the nerves that were fluttering in his belly. Whoever it was, they had chosen to wait in the hallway, so it wasn't until he had stepped out of the classroom that he finally saw his visitor. 

"Iwaizumi-san!" he said, eyes widening.

Iwaizumi grinned at him from where he stood at the other side of the hallway, leaning against the wall with the kind of casual swagger Tooru would never be able to pull off. He'd left his blazer somewhere, and the tails of his untucked shirt hung out of his sweater, while his sleeves were rolled back, revealing his dark, powerful forearms. "Hey," Iwaizumi said, smile broadening. "I'm glad to see you."

Tooru's cheeks warmed. "Y-you are?"

"Yeah!" Iwaizumi said, laughing. "I felt really shitty after leaving you alone like that. Did you get home okay?"

"Oh, yeah," Tooru said, nodding awkwardly. "It was fine."

"That's great," Iwaizumi said. "Does your arm still hurt a lot?"

Tooru shook his head. "Not so much." He bit his lip as he cast around for something else to say. He never had this much trouble talking with girls. "Did you win your game?"

"It wasn't really a proper game," Iwaizumi said, his hand straying to the back of his neck, where he rustled his fingers through the short hairs. "But...yeah, we won a set against them." Iwaizumi sighed and let his hand fall to his side. "Do you, uh...play any sports?"

"No," Tooru said, shaking his head again. "I used to run," he said, shifting his weight self-consciously. "But I hurt my knee, so I stopped."

"That really sucks," Iwaizumi said, brow creasing. "Sorry."

Tooru shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

The two of them stood in awkward silence for several moments, then Iwaizumi cleared his throat and hitched his bag up on his shoulder. "Uh, I should—I need to talk to Coach about some stuff, so."

Bewildered, Tooru nodded, but before either of them could say anything, Fujimoto hurried up to him, calling his name. 

"Oikawa-kun! I brought you curry bread from the canteen!" She waved the packet over her head triumphantly, but then she noticed Iwaizumi, and her step faltered. "Oh—Senpai, I'm sorry for interrupting."

"It's fine," Iwaizumi said, suddenly stiff and awkward. "See you around, Oikawa." He nodded to Tooru, then turned and stalked off down the hallway. 

Fujimoto frowned after him, then turned a curious look on Tooru. "You're not in trouble, are you, Oikawa-kun?"

"Why does everyone assume I'm in trouble?" he asked, his tone bordering on mulish. 

"Well...because you were talking to that mean third year," she said in a halting voice. 

Tooru scowled. "Iwaizumi-senpai isn't mean."

"Oh...sorry," Fujimoto said. She glanced around, then seemed to remember the package in her hand, and thrust it in Tooru's direction. "Here, I brought you this. I thought you might like a treat. Sorry, I never got to find out your favourite so I had to guess."

"...Thank you," Tooru muttered, not quite ready to be placated yet, and with curry bread of all things. He took it from her, and they both stood awkwardly for several more moments, then Fujimoto cleared her throat and drew on a bright smile. 

"So, um—do you want to go outside? It stopped raining."

Tooru glanced out of the window. The sky had indeed begun to clear from the iron grey clouds of that morning. He wondered if they walked in the direction of the gym, if he might catch sight of Iwaizumi again. "Okay," he said, nodding. He matched Fujimoto's smile. "Just let me grab my coat."

—

Tooru didn't see Iwaizumi again at lunchtime, though he kept an eager eye out for him as he and Fujimoto made a lap of the school buildings. She spent the whole lunch break quizzing him about his favourite movies, although she didn't seem terribly pleased with the results. But when Tooru was waiting outside the school that afternoon for his mother to collect him, a familiar, broad-shouldered figure passed by, then stopped and turned to look back at him.

"Oikawa!" 

Tooru almost raised his arm to wave before remembering it was still in a sling. "H-hi, Iwaizumi-senpai," he stammered. 

Iwaizumi muttered something to his companions, then jogged over to Tooru as they laughed. "Hey, sorry we didn't get to talk properly at lunch."

"Oh...that's okay," Tooru said, staring up at him in amazement. He'd already spoken to Iwaizumi more than he'd expected to for one lifetime. He glanced after Iwaizumi's friends, who were strolling in the direction of the gym, still laughing amongst themselves. "Um, don't you have practice?"

"It's okay, I gave Matsukawa the club room key," Iwaizumi said. "They don't need to wait for me."

Tooru frowned. That wasn't exactly what he'd meant, but he also wasn't about to protest Iwaizumi stopping to talk to him. 

"I was really relieved you made it to school today," Iwaizumi said, when Tooru was silent. "I was worried you might not be here."

"I—I didn't want to miss any classes," Tooru stammered.

"Really?" Iwaizumi said, squinting at him. 

Tooru nodded. He'd never missed a day of school, except for once when he'd caught a fever, but Iwaizumi's doubtful expression made him hold back from saying so. "Uh, it's early in the semester," he said, floundering for a response. "I didn't want the teachers to think I'm a bad student."

"I get that," Iwaizumi said, nodding. "You seem really smart."

Tooru's ears burned. "Uh—I—"

Iwaizumi glanced down and scuffed his toe on the ground. "Well, uh—I just wanted to say that you should let me know if you ever need anything. I kind of owe you."

"Oh, you don't—" Tooru began, but he was interrupted by the sound of a car pulling up to the curb, and his mother calling out to him through the open window. His face flushed. "I—I have to go." 

"Me too," Iwaizumi said. "I mean it, if you need anything…" 

Tooru nodded. "Thank you," he mumbled, before turning to fumble with his bag and the car door handle. His mother popped the door open, and he slipped inside, his face flaming. He didn't dare turn and look, but he could still see Iwaizumi standing at the school gate in his periphery. 

"Did you have a good day, Sweetheart?" his mother asked.

He nodded vigorously. "Let's go home."

"I need to go by the supermarket," she said, taking her time pulling away from the curb. She glanced across Tooru, and to his mortification, he saw her wave, and caught a glimpse of Iwaizumi waving back. "Who is that nice young man, Tooru?"

"Uhh...one of my senpai," he muttered. "He's looking for people to join the volleyball club."

That sobered his mother's expression instantly. "I see," she said, frowning into the rearview mirror. "I hope you told him no."

"Of course," Tooru muttered, looking down at his hand resting on his knee. 

"Hmm," she hummed, casting Iwaizumi another glance before she peeled the car away from the curb. "As long as we're on the same page."

Tooru grimaced. "Yes, Mama."

"What would you like for dinner, Sweetheart?"

Tooru shrugged. As they reached the end of the street, he turned back to look, but Iwaizumi had already disappeared back inside the school gates. 

—

The next couple of weeks dragged by. Tooru didn't have to wear his sling after that first day, and he was diligent about icing and stretching his arm, so within a week he was able to write again for a few hours each day. It wasn't enough to get him through a whole day of classes though, and it meant that he couldn't do any extra writing after school. His mother helped him by transcribing his homework for him while he dictated, but his secret notebook lay untouched in the top drawer of his desk. 

School was a kind of sanctuary. He could lose himself in the boredom of his classes, and Fujimoto kept offering to carry his bag or books for him. In fact, ever since his injury, he'd become a favourite with most of the girls in his class, much to the annoyance of his male classmates. Tooru revelled in the attention; he'd always found girls easier to talk to than other boys his age, and he liked the way they treated him like one of their own, so that he didn't feel so much like the odd one out. 

Nearly three weeks after the incident, Tooru was running late for school. He made it through the school gate just before it was closed, but then he ran into another hurdle as he approached the entrance hall to change his shoes. Several boys from his class were gathered outside the school building, looking at something on one of their phones. Tooru tried to edge past them, but they looked up as he passed, and one of the boys, Himura, called out to him.

"Oi, Cripple."

The other boys snorted. Tooru tried to ignore them, but Himura reached out and grabbed him by the elbow, jerking him back. 

"I'm talking to you, Oikawa."

"Let go!" Tooru yelped, wincing as Himura wrenched his arm back. His sprain had mostly healed by now, but he felt the twinge all down his arm when Himura grabbed him. 

"What's so great about you anyway?" Himura spat, pushing Tooru back against the wall. His friends clustered behind him, boxing Tooru in. "What did you do to make all the girls think you're so cool?"

"I didn't do anything," Tooru snapped, his eyes flicking from one face to another, desperately searching for a means of escape. "Maybe they just don't want to hang around morons like you, Himura-kun."

Himura growled and seized a handful of Tooru's shirt. "What the fuck did you call me, prettyboy?" he snarled. "Want me to rearrange your face for you? See how much those dumb bitches like you then."

"Hey!" 

The boys flinched at the sound of a voice nearby, and two of them took off running. Himura was slower to react, and he didn't turn until a large hand seized him by the collar of his blazer and tore him away from Tooru. Himura started to protest, but quickly shut his mouth again as his assailant shoved him back, sending him sprawling onto the grass beside the steps. Tooru's heart leapt when he recognised the newcomer as Iwaizumi, although it sank again just as quickly at the realisation that Iwaizumi had probably seen all of this happening. No doubt he would see just how pathetic Tooru really was, and never want to speak to him again.

"What the fuck is going on?" Iwaizumi demanded, standing over Himura, who was scrambling to his feet. His knees were grass-stained, his shirt and blazer rumpled where Iwaizumi had grabbed him, and his face was murderous. 

"We weren't doing anything!" he spat, throwing a dangerous look in Tooru's direction. " _He_ started it."

Tooru's mouth dropped open, and a flush of heat tore through his chest, and across his face. "I did not!" he snapped, glaring at Himura. 

"I don't care who started it!" Iwaizumi roared. He scowled at Himura. "You think it's fair, five of you picking on one skinny little kid?"

 _Skinny little kid_. The words punched Tooru in the chest, bruising him more successfully than anything Himura could have done to him.

"Well?" Iwaizumi demanded. 

Himura wouldn't meet his eyes, and scowled at the floor instead. "Whatever."

"Get to class," Iwaizumi muttered in a disgusted tone, giving Himura another shove in the direction of the entrance hall. "And I'd better not catch you giving Oikawa shit again."

Still avoiding their eyes, Himura picked up his bag and stalked past Tooru. As he passed, he gave him a brief, sidelong glare, and muttered, "Homo," under his breath.

Tooru scowled at him. "Moron," he hissed. 

Himura snorted, and turned away as he pushed through the double doors and into the entrance hall. When Tooru turned back, Iwaizumi walked over to him, his dark eyebrows drawn together.

"Hey, are you okay?" Iwaizumi asked, reaching out to him.

Tooru recoiled from him. "I can look after myself," he heard himself say. 

Iwaizumi's eyes widened. "Uh—"

"Just because I'm a _little kid_ ," Tooru snapped, layering his voice with sarcasm, "doesn't mean I need to be saved."

"Oh, hey," Iwaizumi said, his nose wrinkling. "I didn't mean it like that, I was just—"

"All evidence to the contrary, I _can_ actually take care of myself."

Iwaizumi's expression folded into a scowl. "It was five against one, even I'm not dumb enough to take on five guys bigger than me."

"Are you sure about that?" Tooru snapped, before he could think better of it.

"Fine," Iwaizumi said crossly, his scowl deepening. "Next time I'll just let them beat you to a pulp."

Tooru's bottom lip wobbled. "Fine by me!" he shouted, before biting his lip hard and turning on his heel. He slammed through the entrance doors, and immediately quailed under the disapproving eye of a teacher who was standing watch in the hallway for stragglers. 

"Less of the attitude please, Oikawa-kun!" she said, gesturing to the row of shoe lockers. "Hurry up and get to class."

"Y-yes. Sorry, Sensei," he stammered, his face blazing as he ducked behind the row of lockers. His hands were shaking as he found his locker and pulled it open, and he had to stop for a moment and fold them into fists. His shoulders were heaving as though he'd just been running, and he took a few deep breaths, trying to steady himself. It was only a minute or two since Himura had grabbed him on the steps, but it felt as though hours had passed. He unclenched his fists and covered his face with both hands, exhaling heavily. It bothered him that he was more annoyed by Iwaizumi than he was by Himura and his cronies. 

Feeling the teacher's impatient gaze on him, Tooru hurried to change his shoes and walked quickly to his classroom. Their homeroom teacher hadn't yet arrived, and as he slid into his seat, he was aware of Himura and his friends glaring at him from around the room. He'd been so preoccupied by his fight with Iwaizumi, he'd almost forgotten Himura's parting insult to him. 

_Homo_. Tooru grimaced, sinking down in his chair. Had Himura noticed something, or had it been a lucky guess? Either way, the thought of someone like _that_ finding out his secret made him feel sick. 

He spent the rest of the day distracted and annoyed. Himura and his friends ignored him during classes, but when Tooru went to retrieve his outdoor shoes at lunchtime, he found that someone had dumped out a pudding cup in one of them.

"Who would _do_ that?" Fujimoto yelped, outraged on his behalf. "Do you want some help cleaning your shoes, Oikawa-kun?"

Tooru gently rebuffed her offer of help, and went to rinse out his shoe in the nearest bathroom. While he tipped the sludgy mess down the sink, he mentally ran through the events of that morning, trying to remember who'd been out of class to use the bathroom. He was fairly sure that Himura hadn't left his desk, but that didn't mean anything. Any one of them could be the perpetrator. When he was finished, he put the clean shoe back in his locker, and walked back to the classroom to eat his lunch. No matter what he did, his mind kept straying back to his argument with Iwaizumi. He felt stupid and small, but he was still angry at the same time. A part of him wished he'd never even bumped into Iwaizumi that first time; all it had got him so far was a sprained wrist and a bruised ego. 

His thoughts kept him distracted for the rest of the afternoon, and he was relieved when his last class finally ended and he could make his way to his after school club. Their president, Shiraishi, had come up with some ideas for experiments they could run—with their faculty advisor's supervision of course—and much of the meeting was taken up with discussion of her ideas and ways to implement them. Tooru managed to stay quiet for most of the session, his thoughts still stewing, and he almost didn't notice when the meeting came to a close. 

The president was the last to leave the club room, with Tooru a few steps behind. His eyes widened when she stopped in the hallway and called out, "Iwaizumi-kun! What're you doing here?"

"Oh, uh—hi, Shiraishi-san," Iwaizumi said, sounding awkward and uncomfortable. "Are you guys done?"

"Yeah, I'm just closing up," she said in her usual, cheerful manner. "You're not looking to join, are you?"

Iwaizumi gave a brief, humourless laugh. "No, uh—I wanted to talk to your first year, Oikawa. Is he here?"

"Oikawa?" Shiraishi asked, sounding surprised. She turned, and smiled at Tooru, who was still hovering in the doorway. "He's right here. Is everything okay?"

Tooru nodded, and Iwaizumi was just as quick to reassure her. "Everything's fine, I just needed to tell him something."

"Well," she said, with a puzzled smile. "I don't see why not." She ushered Tooru out of the club room, and turned to lock the door behind him. 

Tooru stood, fiddling with the zip on his bag, not quite daring to meet Iwaizumi's gaze. Having finished with the lock, Shiraishi straightened up, gave both of them another curious glance, then headed off down the hallway in pursuit of the others. 

"I'm glad I caught you," Iwaizumi said, once she was out of earshot.

Tooru wrung his fingers together, shifting his weight on the spot. "Um...what do you want?"

"Can I walk you home?"

For a moment, Tooru wondered if he'd fallen asleep during the club meeting and dreamed this whole situation. He hadn't expected Iwaizumi to ever speak to him again, let alone offer to walk him home. Moments later, a dark certainty crawled in and replaced the confusion; Iwaizumi really didn't think he could take care of himself, and this was his way of letting him know. He drew himself up, already opening his mouth to retort, when Iwaizumi spoke again. 

"Not because I think you need looking after," Iwaizumi said quickly, as though reading his thoughts. "I just—I owe you an apology."

"Oh," Tooru said, biting his lip. He glanced away as a confusion of feelings flooded his chest. "How did you know where to find me?"

"I asked your friend, that girl that always follows you around. She said you were in the science club."

"She doesn't follow me around," Tooru muttered, although he wasn't sure why he felt the need to defend Fujimoto. She kind of _did_ follow him around, not that he really minded. 

"Right, sorry," Iwaizumi said, grimacing. They stood for a moment longer in awkward silence, then Iwaizumi sighed. "Forget it, this was stupid."

"No, wait," Tooru said, as Iwaizumi started to walk away. The other boy looked over his shoulder, his expression soft and curious. Tooru closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, forcing himself to swallow his pride. "I—kind of need to say sorry too."

To his relief, Iwaizumi smiled. "No shit." He gestured for Tooru to follow him with a nod of his head. "Come on, let's get out of here."

—

Tooru's shoe was still damp from the pudding incident earlier that day, and it was unpleasant walking along with one wet foot, but he did his best to ignore it. It wasn't too difficult, with the distraction of Iwaizumi walking beside him, close enough for their hands to touch occasionally as they walked.

"I'm really sorry about this morning," Iwaizumi said. "I shouldn't have just charged in like that. My mom says I act first, think never." 

"No, no," Tooru said, shaking his head. "I'm glad you did. I think Himura really did want to hit me." 

"So that's his name," Iwaizumi growled. "If he ever threatens you again, you tell me about it. I'll make sure he never touches you." 

Tooru swallowed his initial response and glanced away. "I don't need a bodyguard," he muttered. 

"I didn't mean that," Iwaizumi said quickly. "You're right though, I'm sorry I made you feel bad earlier. I don't think of you as a little kid."

"Okay," Tooru said, shrugging. He glanced over at Iwaizumi, who was carefully avoiding his gaze. "Um...I'm sorry I was a jerk." 

"Apology accepted." Iwaizumi grinned at him. He held out his fist for Tooru to bump it. "Truce?" 

Tooru nodded, shyly returning his smile. He bumped his knuckles against Iwaizumi's.

"So…science club, huh?"

"Yeah," Tooru muttered, glancing away. "You know the president?" 

"Shiraishi-san's in my class. So, you like science?" 

Tooru nodded.

"Tell me what you like about it."

"Oh, uh—I don't know," Tooru said, floundering.

Iwaizumi grinned, and bumped their shoulders together. "I think you do. Go on, tell me." 

Tooru chewed his lip. "I, um—I like to—solve problems. Science is all about solving problems, and finding out how and why things work the way they do. That's how I think, so it makes sense to me to look at things in that way."

"Huh, I never thought about it that way," Iwaizumi said, smiling at him. "I guess we think differently."

"How do you think?" Tooru asked.

Iwaizumi looked thoughtful. "I guess I'm pretty straightforward. My mom tells me I'm too honest, but what am I supposed to do, lie?" 

He started to laugh, and Tooru forced himself to join in, trying not to think about how often he bent the truth when it suited him. 

"Um, I heard that you're really good at volleyball," he ventured, and then winced at how pathetic it sounded. "I mean—obviously you're good at it, you're the captain."

Iwaizumi laughed again. "It's okay, I think they mostly put me in charge because the second years won't listen to anyone else."

Tooru wrinkled his nose. "But...you're the ace, aren't you?"

"Ah, well…" Iwaizumi fumbled, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. "Yeah, I guess."

"That's so cool!" Tooru enthused. "Volleyball is so cool, and Iwaizumi-san too!"

Iwaizumi chuckled. "I didn't know you liked volleyball."

Tooru nodded. "I used to play, before middle school." He looked away, wincing. "My mom made me stop playing after I injured my knee."

"That's too bad," Iwaizumi said, with genuine sympathy. 

Tooru shrugged.

They walked a short way in silence, then Iwaizumi clicked his fingers suddenly. "Hey, why don't you come and watch us practice tomorrow?" he asked, the hint of a smile tugging at his mouth. "You can bring your friend, Coach won't mind." 

Tooru's heart hammered in his chest. "Would that really be okay?" 

Iwaizumi nodded. "Just don't make too much noise. The only time Coach gets mad is when the girls come and spend the whole time screaming." 

Well _that_ didn't sound fun to Tooru at all. "Why do they scream?" he asked, wrinkling his nose. 

To his surprise, Iwaizumi's cheeks pinked. "How should I know?" he grumbled, looking away. "I don't understand girls." Tooru said nothing. "Do you want to?" Iwaizumi asked after a few moments. 

Tooru bit his lip. The thought of getting to watch Iwaizumi play filled him with warmth, and he nodded. "I'd like that." 

Iwaizumi beamed at him. "That's great. See you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow," Tooru agreed in a weak voice.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey happy birthday iwa-chan, i got you this nerdy twink
> 
> the amazing [pussycat_scribbles](https://twitter.com/pussycat_tweets) did some wonderful art to accompany this chapter, please [go check it out](https://twitter.com/pussycat_tweets/status/1270823109705322497)!!

Tooru and Fujimoto hurried straight to the gym after class, arriving even before any of the team had made it out of the changing rooms. 

"I didn't know you liked volleyball, Oikawa-kun," Fujimoto said as they made their way up to the stands. "Do you know the rules?"

Tooru nodded. "Of course! I used to play when I was younger."

"Can you teach me?" she asked, sitting down close beside him. "I don't know anything about volleyball."

"Mm," Tooru hummed, watching eagerly for the team to start emerging from the changing rooms. 

"...Oikawa-kun?"

"O-oh, yes, sorry." Tooru started to explain how the game worked, and what the different positions meant, He lost his thread when Iwaizumi stepped out onto the court below, his words trailing off as he saw Iwaizumi look up into the stands. When he saw Tooru, Iwaizumi grinned and lifted his arm to wave. Tooru's heart stopped beating.

Fujimoto waved back, and after a moment Tooru did the same. "Isn't that that third year you know?" she whispered loudly. "Iwa-something?"

"Iwaizumi-senpai," Tooru said a bit sniffily. "He's the team captain."

"I remember," Fujimoto said, sitting down on the bench. "What position does he play? Setter?"

Tooru shook his head fervently. "He's a wing spiker. They're typically the ones that score most of the points."

"Oh!" Fujimoto beamed at him. "You know so much about volleyball, Oikawa-kun. I'm so impressed." 

They sat and chatted quietly while the players below ran through their warm up routine. Tooru couldn't help the way his eyes followed Iwaizumi, impressed by the easy way he talked and laughed with his teammates, his subtle encouragement of them. He wondered whose decision it had been to make Iwaizumi the team captain, whether his teammates had chosen him, or it was something that the coach decided. 

"Oh!" Tooru hissed as they players finished their stretches started to gather around at one end of the court. "They're starting!" 

"Are they going to play a game?"

Tooru shook his head. "I think they're going to do drills first."

He and Fujimoto watched as the team ran through a series of drills, and Tooru patiently explained to Fujimoto what they were doing; spiking and receiving practice, sprints, wall sits. There were a lot of players on the team, but Tooru was able to keep track of Iwaizumi the whole time. Fujimoto seemed to get bored after a while of watching them run around, and even took out her phone and started messaging somebody. Tooru left her to it, more intent on watching the practice, particularly when they started organising into teams to play practice sets. 

Tooru watched avidly as someone tossed Iwaizumi a ball for him to take the opening serve. He bounced the ball a couple of times, then there was a moment when he paused, where Tooru could have _sworn_ Iwaizumi's eyes flicked up to where he sat in the stands. Then the coach blew his whistle, and Iwaizumi prepared to take his run up. He tossed the ball high into the air, then he ran, jumped, and slammed the ball down hard. The opposing rear guard made a dive for the ball, missing it by centimetres. 

Tooru yelled in delight, and was luckily drowned out by the sound of cheering from below. 

"Was that—good?" Fujimoto asked.

Surprised, Tooru turned and blinked at her; he'd almost forgotten she was there. "Iwaizumi-senpai just started the set with a service ace!" he said excitedly. "That's when you score a point with a serve, and—"

"How interesting," Fujimoto interrupted, although her voice had gone flat. 

Tooru gave her a bemused smile, and went back to watching the match unfold below. At one point Fujimoto rose, saying that she was going to the bathroom, and Tooru acknowledged her with a distracted wave while keeping his eyes fixed on the rally that was unfolding below. 

It was a long time since he'd watched volleyball, especially in person, and it was _thrilling_ to see it so close, especially to be able to look down from above like this, to see how quickly the plays moved. 

At last, practice began to draw to a close. Iwaizumi's team had won their set by four clear points, and they were laughing amongst themselves as they began to tidy up the court, dismantling the nets and packing everything away. 

It wasn't until Iwaizumi waved up at him for Tooru to come down and join him that Tooru noticed he was alone. Fujimoto hadn't come back from the bathroom, and he realised that she'd taken all of her things with her. Perhaps she'd been called home early. He frowned, resolving to send her a message and check that everything was okay, but then he was standing in the foyer, and Iwaizumi came out of the doors to greet him. 

"Oikawa! You stayed." Iwaizumi beamed at him. "Did you have fun?"

Tooru stared up at him. Iwaizumi was still flushed with exertion, and sweat ran down the back of his neck and into the collar of his practice t-shirt. "I—" His brain wouldn't form a sentence. Tooru stared at him, his mouth hanging open. 

"Everything okay?" Iwaizumi asked, reaching up to touch the back of his neck self-consciously. 

"Great!" Tooru said, his voice too loud. "You were—great." He smiled weakly. 

Iwaizumi grinned. "Thanks. Don't go anywhere, I'll walk you home."

Tooru nodded eagerly. He changed his shoes and went outside to wait. 

It wasn't even five minutes before Iwaizumi emerged, wearing his jacket unzipped over his practice t-shirt. Several other team members spilled out at the same, casting curious glances in Tooru's direction. As Iwaizumi parted from them, he reached out to a tall, dark-headed boy and ruffled his hair. The boy stood up straighter, and Tooru squinted at him for a moment, certain that he looked familiar, and then with a sickening lurch in his gut, he realised why. It was Kageyama Tobio. 

Tooru stared for a moment, frozen, then he quickly cast his eyes down when he saw Iwaizumi turn to approach him. His heart was racing, but no longer for pleasant reasons, and he tried his hardest to collect himself before Iwaizumi reached him. 

"Hey," Iwaizumi said, smiling at him. As he drew close, his smile faltered briefly. "Everything okay?"

"Great!" Tooru said with a little too much force. He turned and began to walk in the direction of the gates, only to realise that his determined pace was going to mean they'd catch up with Kageyama and the others, and he quickly slowed down again.

Iwaizumi fell into step beside him, his hands tucked in his pockets. "So," he said after a minute. "What did you think?" 

Tooru bit his lip. He felt strangely hurt from seeing Iwaizumi and Kageyama together, even though he knew it was absurd; they had been on the same team together at Kitagawa Daiichi, after all. If anything, Tooru was the intruder here.

"Hey," Iwaizumi said, nudging him with an elbow. "Are you sure you're okay?" He paused awkwardly. "If you'd rather not walk home with me…"

"No, no!" Tooru said quickly, looking at him in horror. "No, I really want to!" 

Iwaizumi grinned at him. "Yeah?"

Realising what he'd said, Tooru looked away, flushing. "Well, Iwaizumi-senpai was the one who offered," he said, trying to sound sniffy.

"Uh huh," Iwaizumi said flatly. "I guess you got me there." He nudged Tooru's arm again. "You had fun though? At practice?"

Tooru brightened and nodded, his enthusiasm bubbling out of him despite his anxieties. "I haven't watched volleyball since I was a kid," he said, starting to grin. "It was...amazing!"

Iwaizumi laughed. "You can come along anytime you want, you know. I'll make sure to tell you next time we have a proper practice match."

"Really?" Tooru asked, eyes widening. "You'd let me come and watch?"

"Well...sure," Iwaizumi said, laughing and touching the back of his neck again. "If you want to. It's better than girls screaming at us."

Tooru laughed, and felt his heart lift when Iwaizumi smiled at him again. 

"I'll be better next time you watch," Iwaizumi said, glancing off to the side briefly. "I wasn't really on form today."

"But—Iwaizumi-senpai was incredible!" Tooru protested. 

Iwaizumi ducked his head, rubbing at the back of his neck again. "Ah...thanks, Oikawa." He laughed awkwardly. "My jump serve was all over the place though."

"But you got a service ace!" 

"Yeah, but Watari scooped up the rest of them easily." He laughed. "It was kinda embarrassing, I'm glad you didn't notice."

Tooru _had_ noticed, now that he thought about it, since his eyes had been glued to every play—and especially the ones that Iwaizumi was a part of. 

"I've been struggling with my vertical since I sprained my knee a couple of months ago," Iwaizumi continued with a sigh. "I'm not making any progress with my serve at all."

Tooru's eyes widened, his eyes darting down to Iwaizumi's knees and back up to his face. "You hurt your knee too?" He grimaced at the slip, pushing on quickly. "But you're better now, right?"

"Yeah," Iwaizumi said, laughing. "It's fine, although Coach forbid me from playing football with my classmates anymore." He leaned closer, winking at Tooru. "Don't tell him, but we still play sometimes."

"Your secret's safe with me," Tooru said solemnly, privately vowing to keep a closer watch on the third years' lunchtime habits. He had a feeling that football wouldn't be as thrilling as watching Iwaizumi play volleyball, but he couldn't be sure without comparing the two. 

"Hey, how's your wrist doing now?" Iwaizumi asked. 

"Oh!" Tooru held his head up proudly. "It's all better now, thank you."

Iwaizumi reached out, watching him with an expectant look, and after a moment Tooru raised his arm. They both stopped walking, and Iwaizumi gently took Tooru's wrist in both hands. He ran his thumbs down the inside of Tooru's forearm, making him shudder, then he pushed his palm flat against Tooru's and slowly bent it back against his wrist.

"That doesn't hurt?" he asked quietly.

Tooru swallowed. His heart was pounding; he was sure that Iwaizumi would feel it. He licked his dry lips and said as coolly as he could manage, "Are you a doctor now, Iwaizumi-senpai?"

Iwaizumi snorted. "Does it hurt or not?"

Tooru shook his head. "No, it's okay."

Nodding, Iwaizumi released him, and Tooru let his hand fall back to his side as they began to walk again. His hand and wrist tingled where Iwaizumi had touched him.

"I'm glad you're all better," Iwaizumi said after a moment. "I felt really guilty."

"I know," Tooru murmured, moving quickly to catch up to him. "But it wasn't Iwaizumi-senpai's fault." He laughed a little. "And even if it had been, I think you've made up for it by now."

Iwaizumi huffed. "That's alright then."

They walked a little longer, talking about the volleyball practice, and then about volleyball more generally. It turned out that they followed rival teams, which led to some particularly spirited debate, cut short only when Tooru suddenly found himself standing outside his front door with Iwaizumi standing a polite three steps away.

"Oh," Tooru said, cutting himself off mid-rant. "Thanks for walking me home, Senpai."

Iwaizumi shrugged. "It's on my way. And you don't have to call me that, you know. Just Iwaizumi is fine."

Heat rushed to the back of Tooru's neck. "B-but—you're my senior!"

"It's fine," Iwaizumi said, looking uncomfortable. He took a step back, away from Tooru. "See you at school, Oikawa."

Tooru nodded. "Bye, Iwaizumi-senpai."

Iwaizumi snorted, ambling away with a backward wave.

With a sigh, Tooru turned to let himself in, and found Takeru staring at him out of the window. His eyes widened, and he scrambled to open the door and duck inside. 

"Take-chan!" he called, heat rushing to his face. "What're you doing?"

Takeru padded into the hallway, wrinkling his nose at Tooru. "Who's that person?"

"That's none of your business," Tooru said as he slipped off his shoes. "Where's Mama?"

"The supermarket." Takeru was still staring at him. "Who was that person? Someone from your school? Are you in trouble?"

Tooru scowled at him. "Of course not!"

"Did you join a sports club?" Takeru asked, following Tooru as he stalked to the kitchen. "I thought Grandma said you weren't s'posed to join a—"

"I didn't join any club," Tooru snapped. He rummaged in the cupboard until he found some bread, and started to make himself toast. "Do you need something to eat?"

Takeru shook his head. "Unh-unh."

"Then go upstairs and play, I've got homework to do."

"Don't be mean, Tooru," Takeru huffed. 

Feeling petulant, Tooru turned and stuck his tongue out at his nephew. Takeru gave a put-upon sigh and rolled his eyes, before turning and sloping out of the room. A little snarl of guilt tugged at Tooru's stomach, but he forcefully pushed it away.

—

Tooru was normally able to work through his homework without too much difficulty, but that evening he was slow and unfocused. He kept having to read passages over and over for his Japanese Literature class, and even though he'd saved his maths homework for last, since it was usually his favourite, he found that he couldn't make head or tails of the equations. 

He couldn't stop thinking about Iwaizumi, or that afternoon's volleyball practice, but in particular, what Iwaizumi had said to him about his jump serve. It had seemed fine to Tooru. Better than fine, in fact. But he trusted Iwaizumi's assessment of his own capabilities, and if Iwaizumi felt that he could do better, Tooru believed him. 

With a groan, Tooru pushed himself away from his desk and flopped onto his back, blinking up at the ceiling through his glasses. They were blurry and smudged, but his lens cleaner was out of reach so he tolerated it. Iwaizumi had sworn that his knee was fully healed, and if the issue wasn't being caused by his injury, it must logically be a result of either physical qualities or technique. Iwaizumi wasn't the tallest player, but he was agile and had a powerful jump. 

Tooru frowned. He didn't like to imply, even in his own head, that anything about Iwaizumi's volleyball technique could be lacking, but perhaps it could be corrected in some small way. 

"Tooru! Dinner!"

He sighed as he got to his feet and traipsed downstairs to join his family, his mind still whirring. Takeru was already seated with Tooru's parents, and Tooru took the seat opposite him and helped himself to rice. 

"Is everything alright, dear?" his mother asked, interrupting the conversation she was having with his father. "You seem distracted." 

"No," he said, picking at his rice absently. "I mean—yes, I'm fine. Just thinking about a science project."

Saya looked pleased. "Did you finish all your homework, sweetheart?"

Tooru nodded. "Almost."

"Good boy," she said approvingly. "Make sure you get it all done before bed, won't you?"

"Yes, Mama."

Saya gave a satisfied nod, then turned back to resume her conversation with Tooru's father. Tooru exchanged a look with Takeru, who glared at him. Tooru shook his head firmly. _Don't you dare_ , he mouthed at his nephew.

Takeru scowled. "Tooru walked home with someone from a sports club!" he announced. 

Tooru froze. His parents stopped talking and turned to look at him. 

"I—"

"Tooru," his mother said in an icy tone. "Is that true?"

"He's my senpai," Tooru said, shifting in his seat. "I couldn't just say no."

"Why would an older boy want to walk you home?" Saya asked, wrinkling her nose.

Tooru rifled through his brain for an answer. He couldn't tell her about watching volleyball practice, and he _certainly_ couldn't tell her about Iwaizumi stepping in to protect him from his bullies. "Iwaizumi-senpai was there when I hurt my wrist," he said, thinking of the only thing she might accept. It helped that it was more or less the truth. "He took me to the nurse's office."

Saya raised an eyebrow. "He was there? Did this boy hurt you, Tooru?"

"No!" Tooru said quickly. "He would never do that. He just saw me fall, and he came to help."

His mother's expression finally relaxed. "Well then. I'm glad to hear that you have someone looking out for you."

Tooru relaxed minutely.

"And what sports club is this Iwaizumi-kun a part of?"

"...Volleyball," Tooru admitted in a small voice.

"That's quite a coincidence," said Saya.

Tooru shrugged. "He's the one who plays, not me."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Well. Let's keep it that way, shall we?" she said, her voice deceptively light. "We don't want a repeat of what happened before, do we?"

Tooru looked away. "...No, Mama."

He was relieved to get back to his room afterward so that he could finish his homework in peace. Although, he couldn't stop thinking about the fact that, if he'd been able to keep playing, perhaps he and Iwaizumi would be on the same team now.

When he was still unable to puzzle out his equations, in desperation he sent a message to Fujimoto.

It took her a while to reply. When she finally did, her message only said _Try another angle._

Tooru frowned at his phone. Then his thoughts cleared suddenly, his eyes widening with realisation. He snatched at his workbook and pencil and got to work.

—

It was Friday before Tooru was ready to go to Iwaizumi with his idea, but when he ventured to the third year classrooms at lunch, Iwaizumi was nowhere to be seen. Remembering what he'd said about playing football with his classmates, Tooru made his way outside instead, skirting the activities building until he heard the sound of a football being booted across the field, and raucous voices. When he found the players, he saw several first year girls that he knew gathered to one side of the field. They waved him over, although their attention was still focused primarily on the third years, and their conversation continued as though Tooru wasn't even there.

"Don't be silly, Suzuki-senpai is way hotter!"

Another girl shook her head. "Fukuda-senpai."

"Iwaizumi-senpai is much hotter than both of them," said another, and looked to Tooru for support. "Right, Oikawa-kun? You're friends with Iwaizumi-senpai, aren't you?"

Tooru stared at her. "W-well, I suppose—"

"Don't you think he's the most popular boy in school? _All_ the sports clubs fight over him, _and_ he's captain of the volleyball team."

Tooru forced a laugh. "I know him a little, but you should ask one of the girls if he's handsome."

"Oh, don't ask Oikawa," said the first girl. "Just because he's popular too doesn't mean he knows anything about this stuff."

"I know stuff," Tooru said without thinking. 

The girls tittered. "Tell us then," said the girl who'd voted for Iwaizumi. "Is Iwaizumi-san handsome?" 

Fortunately, Tooru was saved from answering by a round of cheering, apparently signalling the end of the football match. The players crashed into an untidy group, laughing and slapping each other on the shoulders, before breaking apart to collect their things. 

Tooru moved closer as Iwaizumi collected his bag. "Iwaizumi-senpai!" he called out, glancing around self-consciously.

Iwaizumi paused, glancing over his shoulder. He smiled when he noticed Tooru, raising a hand to wave at him. "Oikawa!" He ambled over in Tooru's direction, grinning crookedly. "What's up?"

"I, um—I wanted to give you something," Tooru said, glancing nervously over at the other players, some of whom were watching them curiously. 

Following his gaze, Iwaizumi nodded and started to walk in the direction of the activities building, indicating with a tilt of his head for Tooru to join him. Tooru hurried after him, and stepped inside the cool interior of the building when Iwaizumi held the door for him. They walked down the hallway, Iwaizumi trying the door of each unoccupied room, until finally the art room door opened, and he ushered Tooru inside.

"Okay," Iwaizumi said, turning to face him, after checking that they really were alone. He had a strange look on his face, as though he were nervous about something. "What, uh—what did you want to tell me?"

"Oh!" Tooru said, and quickly reached into his bag. He pulled out his notebook, flipping past pages of handwritten notes until he found the diagrams he'd sketched out. "Um...it's just. You mentioned that you were having difficulty with your serve, so…"

Iwaizumi stared at him, then down at the page of diagrams and notations. "Wait, what?"

Tooru wrinkled his nose; whatever Iwaizumi had been expecting him to produce, this wasn't it. He hoped he hadn't offended him. "I—I like maths, and I—I realised that I might be able to help you."

"...Huh." Iwaizumi took the notebook from him, frowning down at it. 

"S-sorry, can you read my handwriting?"

Iwaizumi nodded. "Of course I can, your writing's fine. Way neater than mine." After a moment, he transferred the book to his left hand and points with the other. "This here, you're saying I should try and add more topspin?"

Tooru nodded eagerly, pleased that Iwaizumi had understood. "It reduces the drag, so it hits the floor faster, and—"

"Makes it harder to receive," Iwaizumi finished, starting to smile. 

"Ideally you want to hit it from a higher angle too, but…"

Iwaizumi laughed. "But I need to fix my vertical first, yeah." He looked up finally, beaming at Tooru. "Oikawa, this is great. You're a genius."

Tooru's face flushed. "I'm not, really, I just—"

"Just like maths," Iwaizumi finished at the same time as him, still grinning. He glanced down at the page again and laughed. "I don't even know how to do half these formulas. Maybe you should be tutoring me."

"Really?" Tooru asked, glowing at the thought of getting to spend more time alone with Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi was nodding. He closed Tooru's notebook, biting his lip as he handed it back over. "Hey, uh—I know you already have a club, but would you wanna come and watch us practice again? You have a good eye for this stuff, I think you could really help us improve."

Tooru stood up straighter, hugging his notebook to his chest. "You...want me to help the team?"

"Yeah, if you want to. Maybe you could even—" Iwaizumi cut himself off, laughing. "Never mind, I'm getting ahead of myself. Will you think about it? We don't have club on Sunday or Monday, but otherwise we practice before and after school every day. You don't have to come to every practice, but—"

"I'll do it," Tooru said. He didn't let himself think about what his parents would say, or his classmates in the science club. All he cared about was Iwaizumi's hopeful smile, and the look on his face when he'd called Tooru a genius. "I'll be there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for all your lovely comments aaahhh i'm having so much fun with this fic :) 
> 
> a reminder you can find pussycat's gorgeous artwork [here on twitter](https://twitter.com/pussycat_tweets/status/1270823109705322497)! ♥


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoop sorry this one took me a little longer to wrap up...but fear not. it's almost time...for kissing ;D

Tooru wasn't able to manage it for a few days, but on the following Wednesday he finally made it to volleyball practice after school. The only person he told about it was Fujimoto, who looked underwhelmed by the prospect of him taking a more active part in the volleyball team, which at least meant she was unlikely to tell anybody else about it. He arrived at the gym with Iwaizumi, who shuffled him inside with a warm hand on his shoulder, and steered him over to meet his coach.

"Coach Irihata, Coach Mizoguchi," he said, gesturing to each of them, then giving Tooru a little nudge forward. "This is Oikawa Tooru."

Tooru clutched his bag strap tightly. "Ah, um. How do you do?"

"Oikawa-kun," said Coach Irihata, nodding. 

"So you're the one who's been helping our ace," Coach Mizoguchi said, nodding his approval.

Tooru's cheeks warmed. "Oh, I—I don't know about that."

"He's a genius," Iwaizumi said, with warmth. He gestured toward one of the benches at the side of the hall. "Take a seat if you want, Oikawa. I'm gonna run and change."

Tooru nodded, and obediently went and sank onto the nearest bench. The two coaches had already fallen into low conversation about an upcoming practice match, so Tooru busied himself with pulling out his notebook and pen, and doing his best not to eavesdrop. Or at least, not to eavesdrop too obviously. 

After a few minutes, the team started to filter in from the changing room, and Tooru watched as familiar faces from Kitagawa Daiichi, both from his own year and above, mixed with others he didn't recognise. None of them seemed to notice that he was there, so Tooru sat quietly, his stomach bubbling with nerves and excitement, watching as the team began to set up nets and retrieve baskets of balls. 

"Oikawa-kun, was it?"

Tooru's head snapped up at the sound of his name, and he found Coach Irihata watching him from nearby. "Y-yes, Coach?"

Coach Irihata gave him a thin smile. "You were here last week, weren't you? Sitting up in the stands."

Tooru's eyes widened. "Yes, Coach."

"You know much about volleyball?"

"I used to play, before middle school. I—got injured, I had to stop playing."

Coach Irihata's face clouded momentarily. "That's a shame. But you understand the rules, the positions?"

Tooru nodded eagerly.

"Well, that may be very useful, Oikawa-kun. We don't have a manager, so usually we ask one of the first or second years to take notes for us. Would you mind?"

"Not at all!" Tooru said, jumping up from the bench. While the team started running through their warmups, Coach Irihata found some stats sheets for Tooru and explained what he needed to do. 

"I imagine you don't know very many names yet," Coach Irihata said, his smile kind this time. "But just ask if you think of something you want to write down and don't know the player's name."

Tooru nodded. "Yes, Coach!"

Practice proceeded with the players moving through a series of drills, just like the session he'd watched the previous week. Then the coaches divided them into different groups, which Tooru soon learned were the first and second string players, and all the boys sitting on the bench. There were an awful lot of benchwarmers compared to how many core players there were, and Tooru was rather irked to notice that Kageyama was already part of the second string, along with Kunimi and Kindaichi. Tooru didn't mind them so much; Kunimi was smart, if a bit lazy, and Kindaichi never knew when to keep quiet, but he wasn't a bad sort.

Kageyama, on the other hand. Tooru gripped his pen tightly. Kageyama wasn't smart, but he also didn't know when to keep quiet, and Tooru was only mildly gratified to see that Kunimi and Kindaichi refused to stand near him, instead keeping to the other end of their group, even when they had to walk further to get there. 

Iwaizumi showed no such reticence. When the teams all took a break, and everyone rushed past Tooru to grab their water bottles, Tooru watched in silent fury as Iwaizumi walked over to Kageyama, who was standing alone in the middle of the court. From that distance Tooru couldn't hear what they were saying, but that didn't stop him from gripping his notebook so hard that it crumpled in his hand when Iwaizumi laughed and reached out to ruffle Kageyama's hair. 

"Are you alright, Oikawa?"

Tooru looked round in surprise. Kunimi stood nearby, gripping his water bottle loosely. He was flushed and limp from running around, but his eyes were bright and fixed on Tooru.

"Kunimi-chan!" Tooru said brightly, trying to squash down all his annoyance. "Congratulations on making it onto the second string already."

Kunimi blinked at him slowly. "Thanks. How come you're here?"

"I'm...helping!" Tooru said, and flapped the crumpled stats sheet at him. "Iwaizumi-senpai asked me to come along."

"You know Iwaizumi-san?" Kunimi asked flatly. 

Tooru hesitated. "I'm...tutoring him."

Kunimi swallowed his mouthful and frowned. "You're tutoring a third year?"

Tooru winced inwardly, quickly backtracking. "Of course not! That was a joke, Kunimi-chan."

Kunimi was quiet for a moment as he processed this. "It wasn't funny." 

"Well, there's no accounting for taste, Tooru said, turning away with a sniff. 

Kunimi shrugged and ambled back over to resume practice, so Tooru resumed his note-taking, trying his best to ignore Kageyama. Every now and then he would glance up and catch Iwaizumi looking his way, although when Tooru smiled at him, Iwaizumi quickly looked away. Each time made his stomach tighten up a little more. By the time practice ended, Tooru was feeling fidgety and annoyed, even when Iwaizumi waved at him on his way to the changing room. 

Tooru picked up his own bag and handed over his notes to Coach Mizoguchi before storming out of the gym. He was almost tempted to keep walking, but he forced himself to take a deep breath and wait for Iwaizumi to emerge. He'd waited all day to see him, after all, and Iwaizumi might worry if he simply disappeared without saying anything first. If he could tear himself away from Kageyama, that is.

Iwaizumi emerged a few minutes later, alone this time, and jogged over to where Tooru was waiting. "Hey! How's it going?"

Tooru blinked up at him, his annoyance melting into a smile at the warmth on Iwaizumi's face. "Hey."

"I'm starving," Iwaizumi said, starting to walk toward the school gate. "Let's swing by the convenience store, I'll treat you."

"Oh...thanks," Tooru muttered. 

Iwaizumi nudged him. "Everything alright?"

Tooru nodded. 

"Did you, uh...enjoy practice?"

He nodded again. "I didn't know Kageyama was on the team," he said casually. 

Iwaizumi glanced over at him. "Were you you guys in the same class or something? At Kitadai?"

"Of course not!" Tooru said indignantly. He grimaced. "We were at the same grade school, though." 

"So you know Kunimi and Kindaichi too?" Iwaizumi said thoughtfully. 

"Kunimi was in my class," Tooru said, shrugging. "What about Kageyama? Is he annoying?"

"Nah," Iwaizumi said, to Tooru's disappointment. "He's just eager. Not very good at talking to people. He's already giving Yahaba a run for his money though."

Tooru's stomach was a knot. "Because they both play setter?" 

"Yeah, exactly. And Kageyama's good." Iwaizumi shook his head. "Really good. Poor Yahaba, he already had to contend with Watari, and now someone else has come along to steal his thunder." 

Listening to Iwaizumi praise someone other than him, another first year no less, wasn't especially fun, but the fact that it was Kageyama stung particularly badly. "He's not _that_ good," Tooru muttered. "Kunimi-chan said he can't even sync with the other players properly."

Iwaizumi frowned. "Well...he has some work to do when it comes to getting along with his teammates, but he's improving."

Tooru looked away. "If you say so."

There was an awkward pause, in which Tooru's stomach churned miserably. But finally, Iwaizumi broke the silence.

"You know, you were a big help today."

Tooru glanced aside, blushing faintly. "I didn't really do anything."

"Of course you did," Iwaizumi said, reaching out to bump Tooru's shoulder with his fist. "I'm really glad you came."

"You—you are?" Tooru asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.

Iwaizumi nodded. "You know, uh—" He paused, licking his lips briefly. "I said we don't have a manager this year? Would you...I mean, do you think, maybe you'd be interested?"

For a moment, Tooru only stared at him in disbelief before he finally found his voice. "You really want _my_ help?" he squeaked.

Iwaizumi laughed and nodded. "I know you have science club and cram school, I don't wanna make you—"

"Of course I'll help!" Tooru said quickly, bouncing on his toes. "But, uh—I don't think my parents will let me."

"Ah...is there anything I can do to convince them?"

Tooru hummed, frowning.

"I have an idea," Iwaizumi said, shifting his weight and fidgeting with his bag. "Why don't you come over after practice on Saturday? We can figure out a way to convince them."

"You...want me to come to your house?" Tooru asked in a hoarse whisper.

Iwaizumi shrugged. "If you want to." He winced. "Though, I have to watch my little brother. He's eight. Well, nine in a couple of weeks."

Tooru brightened. "My nephew is eight too!"

"Oh!" Iwaizumi beamed at him. "Why don't you bring him too?"

"Would that really be okay?" Tooru asked, eyes widening. He didn't feel _thrilled_ at the thought of taking Takeru with him, but if it meant pleasing Iwaizumi, he'd gladly do it.

Iwaizumi laughed. "Of course." He smiled as he took a step back. "I need to get home, but I'll text you!"

"O-okay!" Tooru called, as Iwaizumi started to walk away from him. "Bye, Iwaizumi-senpai!"

—

Tooru put off asking permission until Friday afternoon. He didn't bother asking his mother whether or not he could go; she would hardly deny him the opportunity to study with one of his senpai. He did, however, need permission to borrow his nephew, so he volunteered to go to the supermarket with his sister that afternoon.

"Nee-san."

Mikako didn't look up from the shopping list on her phone. "Mm?"

"I need to borrow Takeru."

Takeru looked round. "Huh?"

"What for?" Mikako asked, still not looking up.

Tooru tried to keep his tone disinterested. "Oh, well, one of my senpai invited me over to study with him tomorrow, but he's watching his younger brother, so he asked if I wanted to invite Takeru along."

Mikako looked up from her phone finally, narrowing her eyes at Tooru. "Is this the same boy you walked home with last week?"

Resisting the urge to glance at Takeru, Tooru affected a nonchalant shrug. "Does that really matter? I thought you'd be pleased. Maybe Take-chan can make a new friend."

"I already have friends," Takeru said indignantly. 

"He has friends," Mikako echoed.

Tooru resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Please, nee-san? I think it will be really helpful for the summer exams."

Mikako sighed. "Alright, alright, do whatever you want."

"Mom!" Takeru whined.

Mikako ruffled his hair absently. "Just don't keep him there for hours if he decides he wants to go home."

Tooru agreed readily, avoiding Takeru's baleful gaze. When Mikako and Takeru were both distracted at the checkouts, Tooru pulled out his phone and texted Iwaizumi.

Tooru☆: They said yes!   
Tooru☆: What time should we come over?

Iwa-senpai: that's great!!  
Iwa-senpai: about 3 ok?

Tooru☆: Yeah! See you then (o^▽^o)

—

Tooru's nerves were bubbling in his chest as he and Takeru waited on Iwaizumi's doorstep that Saturday afternoon. Takeru had protested vigorously at first about being forced to accompany Tooru to meet his friends, but had soon given in to sullenness instead. Takeru was almost as accomplished when it came to sulking as Tooru, but he usually snapped out of his moods quickly, and sure enough, he'd brightened up by the time they reached the door.

"Can I ring the doorbell?" Takeru asked, peering up at him.

"No!" Tooru said, when Takeru reached for it. He took a deep breath. "I mean—yes, of course, Take-chan. Go for it." 

Rolling his eyes, Takeru reached for the doorbell again and pressed it. The door opened ten seconds later to Iwaizumi's grinning face. 

"You made it! Come in, come in."

Tooru ushered his nephew inside, and the two slipped off their shoes. Iwaizumi was still beaming at them. Beside him stood a boy a little shorter than Takeru, who looked like Iwaizumi in miniature, with spiky hair and bright green eyes.

"You must be Takeru, right?" Iwaizum said. 

Takeru nodded warily. 

"Oikawa tells me you and my brother are the same age. Chiaki, c'mon—" Iwaizumi paused, holding out his hand and gesturing his brother closer. "Chiakkun, this is Takeru."

"...hi," Chiaki mumbled.

Takeru blinked at him. 

"You two wanna go play?" Iwaizumi asked, giving Chiaki's shoulders a gentle shake. "Me and Oikawa are just gonna be doing homework, it'll be really boring."

To Tooru's amusement, Chiaki wrinkled his nose. "Can we go play in my room?"

Iwaizumi nodded. "Sure."

Chiaki grinned. "Okay. Come on, Takeru-kun!" He turned and charged up the staircase, while Takeru followed behind at a more sedate pace. 

Once they'd gone, Tooru grinned at Iwaizumi. "Chiaki is pretty cute."

Iwaizumi laughed. "Everyone says he takes after me, so I guess that makes me cute too."

A brief moment of silence followed, in which they stared at one another, and then heat rushed to Tooru's face. "I—"

"Forget I said that," Iwaizumi muttered, turning away and putting his hand over the back of his neck. "Uh, come in. Do you want something to drink? We have water or barley tea."

"J-just water is fine," Tooru said quietly, following Iwaizumi into the front room. 

"Coming right up," Iwaizumi said, padding into the kitchen. 

Tooru followed, looking around with interest. The house was a little smaller than his own, more cramped with books and toys and knick knacks. There were kids' drawings on the fridge, and lots of family photos in the living room. Tooru's parents had only staged family portraits on the walls, and pictures of Mikako and Tooru in various school uniforms. 

While Iwaizumi reached for a glass, Tooru watched him out of the corner of his eye. He'd clearly come home and showered after practice; his hair was still slightly damp, and he smelled fresh and clean. Tooru longed to move a little closer, his fingers itching to reach out and touch. A kind of electricity shivered under his skin, to be this close, with nobody else around.

Iwaizumi glanced back at him with a crooked smile. "Hey. Everything okay?"

Tooru nodded wordlessly. 

"Here." Iwaizumi handed him the glass of water, then opened a cupboard and pulled out a packet of potato snacks, which he tipped into a bowl. "I'll take something up to the kiddos in a bit. Hopefully they're getting along."

"Takeru is really friendly," Tooru said, clutching his glass to stop him doing something totally insane, like putting his arms around Iwaizumi, or planting his face in the other boy's chest. "Except towards me."

Iwaizumi laughed. "You said he's your nephew, right?"

Tooru nodded. "My sister is older than me."

"So you're the baby," Iwaizumi said with a wink. "Like Chiaki."

Rather than get annoyed, Tooru leaned into it with a winsome smile. "That's right, or I _was_ the baby until Takeru, but he hates anyone treating him like a little kid."

Iwaizumi laughed as he led Tooru through to the living room, and sat down at the low table. "Chiaki's the same. I have a feeling they're gonna get on just fine." When they were both seated, Iwaizumi leaned his elbow on the table, resting his chin on his hand. "So, we need a plan."

Tooru nodded. "Mama doesn't want me to join a sports team, _especially_ not volleyball."

"How come?"

"I...used to play, before middle school. Me and Kageyama were on the same team."

Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes slightly. "You two didn't get on?"

Blushing, Tooru glanced away. "We were friends, kind of." He sighed, gesturing vaguely. "But he's a genius. I couldn't compete. I trained too hard, trying to catch up, and I injured my knee. Mama wouldn't let me play after that."

"Oh, Oikawa…" Iwaizumi grimaced. "I'm really sorry, I had no idea."

"How could you?" Tooru said, forcing a laugh and waving off his concern. "I don't mind. I joined the science club instead, and I _know_ Kageyama can't beat me at that. Thinking isn't his strong point."

Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow. "Well, I probably wouldn't put it like _that_ , but he's definitely more...instinctive."

Tooru giggled. Iwaizumi cast him a reproachful look, but then after a moment he smiled too. 

"You know as captain I'm not allowed to play favourites."

Tooru smiled, and then his next words came tumbling out of him unbidden, "Are you suggesting I'm your favourite, Iwa-senpai?" 

For a moment, they only stared at one another: Tooru startled by his own boldness, while Iwaizumi stammed, his ears turning pink.

"Y-you're not on the team," Iwaizumi managed at last, clearing his throat. "So no, you can't be my favourite."

Tooru let out an exaggerated groan. "So mean, Iwa-senpai!"

Iwaizumi huffed. "I thought I told you to drop the 'senpai' anyway, what's with this 'Iwa-senpai'? How is that better?"

"Aw, you don't like it?" Tooru asked, blinking up at him. "But I wanted to call you something different than all those girls call you."

Iwaizumi winced. "You have a point. Okay, call me whatever you want."

Tooru beamed at him. "Yay!" 

"So," Iwaizumi said, looking away from him. His ear was still pink. Tooru couldn't tear his gaze away from it. "Do you think your parents might let you be a team manager? It's not like you'd be playing, so there's no risk of you getting injured again." He bit his lip. "I guess you would have to see Kageyama a lot though."

Tooru huffed. "Yeah." He realised how churlish he sounded, and hurried to correct it. "Uh—not that that's a problem! It's not like I have to compete against him anymore."

Iwaizumi gave him a strange look. "Yeah, true."

"A-anyway," Tooru said, reaching over for his bag. "We should—homework." 

"Yeah," Iwaizumi said, picking up one of his own workbooks and flipping it open. "Okay, good." He glanced over at the top workbook on Tooru's pile and laughed. "You have Yamamoto-sensei for Classics?"

Tooru nodded. "She seems...strict."

Iwaizumi laughed again. "She seems that way, yeah, but she's a pushover really." He grinned and crooked a finger to gesture him closer, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Yama-chan is _crazy_ about dogs. Just ask her if she likes dogs, and then when she gets all excited about hers, ask to see pictures of them. She'll be your best friend for life."

Tooru giggled. "She really likes dogs that much?"

"Yup."

"Do you like dogs, Iwa-senpai?" Tooru asked, mimicking Iwaizumi's low, conspiratorial tone. 

Iwaizumi's eyes widened, and he drew away from Tooru a little, turning his attention back to his workbooks. "Yeah, I mean. Who doesn't like dogs?"

"Do you and Chiaki-kun have any pets?"

"Nah," Iwaizumi said, shaking his head. "Poor Chiakkun, he's allergic to anything with fur. We wanted to get a snake or something, but my dad's not a fan." He laughed softly. "I don't mind so much, but Chiaki really wanted to be a vet."

"Oh, that's a shame," Tooru said, frowning. "Maybe he could be a snake vet?"

Iwaizumi laughed. "Yeah, maybe."

"Do you, um—do you know what you want to be when you grow up?" Tooru caught himself with a wince. "I mean—after university."

"Hmm." Iwaizumi leaned back, considering the question. "I don't know really. I kind of wanna study abroad. I've always wanted to travel."

Tooru's heart sank at his words, the realisation that Iwaizumi might disappear in a year to another part of the world. "O-oh. That sounds...exciting."

Iwaizumi shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. I haven't decided yet." He offered Tooru a soft, crooked smile. "What about you?"

"I—I'm not sure," Tooru said, looking down at his lap. He reached up unconsciously to push his glasses up his nose. "Something with science, probably."

"You really like science, huh?"

"Ah...yeah." Tooru bit his lip. "I dunno."

Iwaizumi leaned closer again. "You don't know?" he asked, his voice soft.

Tooru fidgeted with the edge of his workbook. "I also, um—I like to write."

"Write...you mean like...stories?"

Daring a glance up at Iwaizumi's face, Tooru nodded. "I like sci-fi."

"Is that what you write?" Iwaizumi asked, eyes wide. When Tooru nodded, he laughed. "That's incredible! Oikawa, you're so cool."

Heat rushed to Tooru's face. "You really think so?"

Iwaizumi nodded eagerly. "Really cool! I love to read but I can't write to save my life. I think it's amazing that you can do that. Do you ever let people read what you write?"

"Oh—no, I—my parents wouldn't like it."

"Like what?" Iwaizumi asked, wrinkling his nose. "That you write?"

Tooru squirmed. "They want me to be a scientist. It's more...impressive, you know."

"Well, hey," Iwaizumi said, giving him that charming, lopsided smile once more. "Maybe you can be both." 

Tooru looked back at him for a few moments, not caring that his face was red, or that he'd _told someone his secret_. He felt light and warm, filled with inexplicable delight, unable to stop from letting his eyes roam over Iwaizumi's handsome face; his bright, almond-shaped eyes, the curl at the corner of his mouth, the slight gap between his two front teeth. Tooru opened his mouth slightly, perhaps to speak, though he didn't know what he'd say. Iwaizumi's soft eyebrows drew in slightly, and he leaned a little closer.

They were interrupted suddenly by a burst of laughter from upstairs. Iwaizumi sat back, blinking up at the ceiling. "I should go check on the kiddos. You get started, I'll be back in a minute." 

"Do you want me to help?"

Iwaizumi laughed. "If we both go they might think we're checking up on them."

"Oh...true."

"I won't be long," Iwaizumi said, and winked at him

Tooru swallowed. "Okay."

When he'd gone, Tooru dropped his elbows onto the table and buried his face in his hands. He felt hot all over, and embarrassed by his easy admission of his most closely guarded secret. While Iwaizumi went upstairs to check on Takeru and Chiaki, Tooru opened one of his books and tried to bury himself in his homework before the older boy returned, breathing out a sigh of relief as the heat slowly dissipated.

When Iwaizumi returned, he quietly took out his own work and settled in next to Tooru again to start working, only this time, when he sat, his knee was just brushing the side of Tooru's thigh. Tooru gritted his teeth and tried to ignore it, but he didn't move away. And, though he had to have noticed that they were touching, Iwaizumi didn't move either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOON!!! KISSING!!!!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you folks for sticking with me!! a slightly bumper chapter this week - happy early birthday to oikawa ;D

The next couple of weeks passed in a daze for Tooru. He and Iwaizumi had yet to come up with a good way to convince Tooru's mother to let him join the boys' volleyball club as their manager, and Tooru had quietly promised Takeru that he could spend time with Chiaki again as long as he didn't let slip that Iwaizumi was the captain of the volleyball team. In the meantime, he continued sneaking into practice where he could, gradually getting to know the team, and answering Iwaizumi's questions as they walked home together: Did he think Kindaichi's block had gotten better? Could he think of a way to motivate Kunimi to put in more effort? Did any of the first years seem like a promising libero?

Iwaizumi's birthday came around, which Tooru discovered by accident one day following practice. He spent a fruitless Sunday afternoon hunting around the local mall for a gift, almost giving up entirely, before finally picking something up in a kiosk by the station. 

He presented it to Iwaizumi the following day, in the morning, when there weren't too many other people around. 

"Uh...happy birthday, Iwa-senpai," he muttered, pressing the tiny gift into Iwaizumi's hand. 

Iwaizumi's face lit up. "You got me a present?" he asked, sounding thrilled. 

Tooru shuffled on the spot, biting his lip. "It, um—"

"It's a keyring!" Iwaizumi beamed. "Is this a spaceship?"

Tooru nodded. "I thought—it would remind you of me." He grimaced and held out his hand. "It sounds stupid now. Give it back, I'll get you something better."

"No way!" Iwaizumi said, holding it out of reach. When Tooru tried to swipe for it, Iwaizumi held it up over his head, and stuck out his tongue. 

"Iwa-senpai!" Tooru groaned. 

"Nope," Iwaizumi said, and pulled his bag over his shoulder so he could affix the keyring to it. "It's mine now. Deal with it."

Tooru huffed, privately pleased.

"Thanks, Oikawa," Iwaizumi said, once he'd finished fastening the keyring to his bag. He looked up and grinned at him. "Hey, uh—I actually wanted to ask you something."

"Oh?"

Iwaizumi shifted on the spot, scuffing his toe against the ground. He looked around, checking that they were alone, before moving in and speaking in a low voice. "Don't laugh though, okay?"

Tooru's heart thrummed. He knew there was no real chance of Iwaizumi asking him out on a date, but the idea of the other boy wanting to ask him something at all was still exciting. He raised an eyebrow, trying to seem cool and collected. 

Rather than reply, Iwaizumi reached for his bag again and pulled out a dogeared workbook, which he pushed into Tooru's hands. 

"It's a book," Tooru said, picking it up and leafing through it. Iwaizumi's name was scrawled on the front cover, while the inside was filled with messy notation, much of it crossed out. "Your maths book?" he asked, blinking up at Iwaizumi curiously. 

Iwaizumi nodded. He reached up to push his hair back from his face with a sigh. "We're doing mechanics, I just can't understand it," he said gruffly. "I thought—you seem to get this stuff, so…"

"Yes!" Tooru said, nodding. "You want me to tutor you?"

Iwaizumi looked away, frowning. "I just need to pass this exam, I don't have the time for remedial classes this summer." 

Tooru started to grin. He set his shoulders and offered the book back to Iwaizumi with a flourish. "You know, if you want me to help you, you'll have to actually ask me."

Rolling his eyes, Iwaizumi huffed before meeting his gaze again. "You're secretly kind of a brat, aren't you?"

"Oh, what's that?" Tooru said, cupping a hand to his ear. "You _don't_ want my help, Iwa-senpai?"

Iwaizumi groaned. "Fine, fine," he sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. "Oikawa, please help me study."

"Was that so difficult?" Tooru asked, beaming.

"Don't push it," Iwaizumi growled.

Tooru snapped his mouth shut, stomach turning. He hoped he hadn't pushed too far; the last thing he wanted was to make Iwaizumi think he was just some annoying kid. But then Iwaizumi shook his head, and flashed Tooru a hint of his crooked grin. 

"Do you have time after practice tomorrow?" Iwaizumi suggested. "Maybe you could come over?"

"Yes!" Tooru said, nodding eagerly. 

Iwaizumi laughed. "Okay."

—

"Mama! I'm going to my friend's house again tomorrow, is that okay?"

Saya frowned at him. She set down her rice bowl and chopsticks slowly. "Is this that older boy of yours?"

Tooru swallowed. "Yes?"

"I think you should invite your friend here instead."

Tooru stared at her. "What? Why?"

"Because I want to meet this friend of yours that you can't stop talking about," she said, smiling sweetly. "Is that such a strange request?"

"No, Mama," Tooru said, going back to his dinner. 

"Ask him to come for dinner."

Tooru winced inwardly. "Yes, Mama." He was annoyed, for once, that Takeru and his sister weren't there, as Takeru would no doubt have started making noise about seeing Chiaki again, which would have taken some of the attention off Tooru. Still, he didn't see any way to get around it; if his mother wanted to meet Iwaizumi, she would do everything in her power to make it happen.

After dinner, he bolted up the stairs with the excuse that he had homework to finish, and pulled out his phone to text Iwaizumi.

Tooru☆: Mama wants you to come for dinner tomorrow  
Tooru☆: Don't think she'll take no for an answer, sorry (〃＞＿＜;〃)

Iwa-senpai: can u talk right now?

Tooru☆: Yes?

His phone started to ring. Tooru stared at it for several moments in surprise before picking up. "Hello?"

"Would you rather I don't come tomorrow?"

"Huh?"

Iwaizumi laughed. His laugh sounded nice over the phone, like he was sitting close by, his breath soft in Tooru's ear. "For dinner. Do you want me to come and meet your parents?"

Tooru blinked. "You don't mind?"

"Well...no? I'd still get to see you, wouldn't I?"

Heat rushed to Tooru's face, and his stomach flipped in his chest. "Yes!" he squeaked, flopping back onto his futon.

"Right," Iwaizumi said. "And I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna pass this exam without your help, so it looks like I don't have a choice, right?"

"...Right," Tooru agreed, his stomach plunging once more with the foolish realisation that of course Iwaizumi only wanted to see him because he needed _help_.

"Don't worry," Iwaizumi soothed. "Or do. Is your mom gonna hate me?"

"Of course not!" Tooru said quickly. "How could she hate you? You're amazing!" 

Iwaizumi made a strange, choking sound. "D-don't be stupid."

Tooru covered his face with his free hand. "Sorry! I just meant—"

"It's fine," Iwaizumi cut him off, his voice gruff. "Tomorrow, yeah?"

"Right!"

"Fine." He paused momentarily. "And you—you're pretty cool too."

Tooru's eyes widened. "W-wha—" he stammered, but when he looked at his phone, he saw that Iwaizumi had already ended the call. Wailing, Tooru rolled over and buried his face in his futon, unsure whether he wanted to laugh or cry. He settled for laughing, smothering his nervous giggles in his futon until they passed, although the butterflies in his stomach remained.

—

Tooru met Iwaizumi at the front gate the following day. He'd stayed behind after school to do some revision of his own, and to pass the time during volleyball practice. 

Iwaizumi was late to meet him, and when he finally appeared, Tooru was displeased to see that Kageyama was dogging his footsteps, walking too close to him and apparently listening intently to whatever Iwaizumi was telling him. Tooru tried to glare at him without being too obvious about it, but unfortunately Iwaizumi was the first one to look up and notice him. 

"Oikawa!" he called out, waving.

Kageyama blinked, then turned and looked at Tooru, his face blank and puzzled. "Oikawa."

"Oi," Iwaizumi said, reaching out and cuffing Tooru on the shoulder. "What's that face for?"

Tooru quickly rearranged his features into his most charming smile. "What face, Iwa-senpai?"

Iwaizumi squinted at him, then turned his attention back to Kageyama. "I'll talk to Kindaichi, alright?"

"No—" Kageyama blurted, then stopped, glancing at Tooru and shuffling on the spot. "It's fine. You don't need to get involved, Iwaizumi-senpai."

"Maybe not," Iwaizumi said in a low voice, "but I wouldn't be much of a captain if I didn't try to help." He reached out and gripped Kageyama's shoulder firmly, the sight of which stirred up a sickly, jealous feeling in Tooru's chest.

As if Iwaizumi could sense it, he turned and grinned at Tooru, making the ill-feeling melt away with the force of his smile. 

"Why have you been coming to practice?" Kageyama asked.

Tooru stared at him, heat rushing to his face. "What?"

Iwaizumi let out an awkward laugh. "He's our manager, remember?" he said, slinging his arm around Tooru's shoulders. "He's helping us out with stats and stuff, and organising all the gear."

But Kageyama only frowned. "I know. I meant why isn't he playing?"

Tooru stiffened. "You know I don't play anymore."

"Why not?" Kageyama asked, still watching him with the same flat expression. 

Gritting his teeth, heat choking him, Tooru took a step toward him. "You _know_ why not," he hissed. 

Kageyama blinked at him.

"Alright, easy now," Iwaizumi said smoothly, stepping between them. He placed his hand against Tooru's chest, not quite pushing him away, just a warning, and squeezed Kageyama's shoulder with the other hand. "You better get home, Kageyama."

Shrugging, Kageyama began to walk away, though he watched Tooru for several steps before turning and heading off down the street. Tooru watched him go, his chest shuddering as he struggled to keep his breathing under control, trying not to let Iwaizumi see that he was upset.

"Come on," Iwaizumi said after a moment, giving him a gentle nudge. 

Wordlessly, Tooru swallowed down the bitter taste in his mouth and fell into step with Iwaizumi, trudging along beside him. 

"You and Kageyama really don't get on, huh?"

Tooru grimaced. "Sorry. I didn't mean to—" He broke off, sighing. "He just...frustrates me."

"I can see that," Iwaizumi said lightly. 

"I'm sorry," Tooru said again, wincing. "I know it's stupid, it was so long ago—"

"Hey," Iwaizumi said, reaching out to bump his fist against Tooru's shoulder. "It's okay. I get it." He gave Tooru a wry smile. "Just don't get into a fight with him, alright? You'd get me in trouble."

Tooru sagged with relief. "Alright," he said, nodding. "I promise."

Nodding, Iwaizumi started prodding him about his English class instead, and Tooru gratefully latched onto the change of subject. 

When they reached his house, Tooru opened the door and took a deep breath as he slipped off his shoes. He moved aside to let Iwaizumi in behind him, and called out a greeting.

"Tooru! Is that you, darling?"

He winced. "Yes, Mama!" 

"Is your friend with you?"

" _Yes_ , Mama."

Tooru's mother appeared in the doorway to the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. "How do you do?" she said, advancing on Iwaizumi. "I'm Tooru's mother. You must be…?"

"Iwaizumi Hajime," he said, bowing. "Nice to meet you, Oikawa-san. Thank you for inviting me for dinner."

She smiled without any warmth. "And what year are you in, Iwaizumi-kun."

"I'm a third year."

"He's my senpai," Tooru offered uselessly. 

Saya's gaze sharpened. "So, are you tutoring my son?"

Iwaizumi laughed, and ran his fingers through the back of his hair. "Actually, he's tutoring me. I need to pass my maths exam so I can go to our summer training camp."

At those words, Tooru stiffened, but it was too late. His mother could clearly sense blood in the water.

"Training camp?" she prompted with a polite frown.

Iwaizumi hesitated. "Uh—"

"Iwaizumi-san is the volleyball captain," Tooru said decisively, throwing caution to the wind. 

Saya raised an eyebrow. "Is that right?"

"Um...yes?" Iwaizumi said warily. 

"That's impressive," Saya said, nodding. "You two had better go and get studying. Dinner will be ready in forty minutes."

"Thanks, Mama!" Tooru said, then he grabbed Iwaizumi's wrist and dragged him up the stairs to his bedroom. He'd carefully tidied and arranged his room the night before, but he still felt a rush of self-consciousness at the thought of Iwaizumi seeing his bedroom. He paused at the door. "Don't—don't laugh at my room, okay?"

Iwaizumi gave him an odd look. "Why would I laugh?"

Tooru exhaled softly, then he rolled back the door and led Iwaizumi inside. While he buddies himself setting up the table, he was aware of Iwaizumi surreptitiously looking around, and he tried to ignore it. It hadn't occurred to him before to take down his nerdy space posters, or the pictures of he and his friends in their middle school science club, and beside his bed was an overflowing stack of sci-fi magazines and novels. 

"Are those star wars models?" Iwaizumi asked, crossing over to Tooru's desk. 

Tooru fidgeted. "I--yeah."

"They're so cool!" Iwaizumi said, grinning at him. Perhaps sensing Tooru's discomfort, he stopped investigating at that point and came over to sit at the table with Tooru. He sat in the same place as last time, at right angles to him instead of opposite, close enough for their knees to touch. 

"You like star wars?" Tooru ventured as they pulled out their books. 

Iwaizumi nodded. "Godzilla is better, but I like sci-fi movies too."

Tooru's eyes widened. "You like Godzilla?"

Laughing, Iwaizumi pulled out his phone and showed Tooru his phone case. "I thought you would have noticed."

Tooru lowered his gaze, flushing. "Why would I notice that?"

Iwaizumi shrugged. "You're just really observant. You notice a lot about people, like with the club—you're always spotting little ways the team can improve, things that I hadn't even noticed."

"Oh," Tooru said, a pleased smile warming his face. "I'm just glad I can be helpful."

"You're definitely that," Iwaizumi said with a grin. 

Tooru huffed, and reached over to grab Iwaizumi's textbook. "Do you want to pass your test or not?"

Iwaizumi laughed, though he quickly fell silent when Tooru gave him a quelling glare. "Ah—yeah, I do," he said sheepishly. 

"Good, then let's get started." 

They worked until Tooru's mother called them down for dinner. Tooru ate very little, too nervous in the face of his crush sitting in the same room as his parents. Not to mention he was afraid of his mother somehow objecting to Iwaizumi and deciding that Tooru couldn't spend anymore time with him.

In the end, however, he needn't have worried; Tooru's mother was clearly taken with Iwaizumi from the outset. She didn't even seem to mind that he was on the volleyball team, not when she found out that he was the captain, and that they were one of the best teams in the region. Tooru puffed up a little with pride when Iwaizumi shyly admitted that they'd come in second in the last three competitions they'd entered, and he was on the point of boasting about some of the players before remembering that he wasn't supposed to know anything about the volleyball club, and quickly bit his tongue. 

Iwaizumi seemed to notice, however, because he cast Tooru a sly grin when Tooru's parents weren't watching, and nudged his thigh under the table in encouragement. 

When they had finished, Iwaizumi volunteered to clean up, and he and Tooru stood side by side as they washed and dried the dishes. They didn't speak, but when Tooru glanced up he saw that Iwaizumi was smiling, and he nudged him with his elbow.

"What's funny?" he whispered.

Iwaizumi's smile widened. "Nothing."

"Why're you smiling?"

"I'm not. Why are _you_ smiling?"

Tooru huffed and looked down at the water, grinning so wide that he couldn't even bite his lip to hide it. "I'm not smiling."

"Oh no?" Iwaizumi leaned closer, trying to peer into his face as Tooru turned away to hide it. "Are you sure?"

"I'm not!" Tooru whined, covering his face.

Iwaizumi laughed, and the moment Tooru pulled his hand away from his face, Iwaizumi flicked his hand, spattering soapy water across his shirt and the side of his face. 

Tooru yelped, ducking out of reach. "Iwa-senpai!"

Iwaizumi splashed him again. "Oh?" he said, grinned at Tooru as he raised a hand in a useless attempt to defend himself. "Looks like you're smiling now."

"Boys?" Saya called. "Is everything alright in there?"

Tooru winced. "Yes, Mama!"

"Sorry, Oikawa-san!" Iwaizumi called, turning back to the sink. 

"Meanie, Iwa-senpai," Tooru muttered as he moved back to stand beside Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi laughed under his breath, and the two resumed their chore quietly. When they were done, they made their way back upstairs, and Iwaizumi attempted some of the maths problems Tooru had explained before dinner, while Tooru tried to focus on his own homework, and not let himself get distracted by the sight of Iwaizumi frowning down at his paper, or the way he chewed the tip of his pencil while he was thinking. 

Finally, Iwaizumi sighed and pushed the worksheet over to Tooru. "I think I got most of it," he ventured, a faint querying note at the end of his sentence.

Tooru pushed his glasses up his nose and looked down at the worksheet. He scanned through the problems and Iwaizumi's messy workings. A slow smile spread across his face as he progressed. "These are all right!" he said excitedly. "Well...except this one, but you just made a mistake in the workings." He picked up his pencil and circled it, then grinned up at Iwaizumi. "You did it."

Iwaizumi exhaled heavily. "Wow. You're a really good teacher, you know?"

"I didn't do that much," Tooru said, looking down to hide his blush.

"You did!" Iwaizumi insisted. "You explained it way better than our maths teacher ever does."

Tooru shrugged. "I expect you're going to pass your test then, aren't you?" he said in a sniffy tone, handing the sheet back and reaching for his own workbook. "That's all that matters."

Iwaizumi grinned. "I'll do my best."

—

Just over a week later, Tooru was sitting in the courtyard at lunch, chatting away with some of the girls in his class. 

"My mom gave me some money to go buy a new yukata," Sato was saying.

"Oh! We should go to the mall on Sunday!!" Fujimoto said excitedly. "Want to come, Oikawa-kun?"

Tooru blinked. "Well—"

"Do you own a yukata, Oikawa-kun?" asked Nikida.

"Oh you'd look so good in a yukata!" Fujimoto agreed, clapping her hands together.

Tooru laughed and executed a little bow, as best as could while sitting down at least. "Thank you, Fujimoto-chan. I'm sure you would all outshine me, though."

The girls tittered, and Tooru grinned along with them. He found them easy to talk to—easier than the boys in his class, at least, and he liked being the centre of attention with them when he spent time with them. He nodded along as they made plans to visit the mall, wondering idly whether Iwaizumi ever went to the mall with his friends, whether Tooru might actually see him there.

"Oikawa!" 

Tooru startled at the sound of his name, and looked around to try and find the source of it. His face lit up when he saw Iwaizumi crossing the courtyard toward him. He was waving a piece of paper over his head, and he laughed as he called Oikawa's name again.

Tooru hopped down off the table he was sitting on, putting his lunch aside and ignoring the questioning looks he was getting from his classmates. "Did you get your test back?" he asked, brimming with anticipation as he went over to stand with Iwaizumi, just out of earshot of the girls. 

Iwaizumi nodded, pushing the piece of paper in Tooru's direction. 

Tooru took it from him, his eyes scanning the page until he found the number circled in red pen. "...Eighty-seven?" he said, eyes widening. He looked up at Iwaizumi, who was grinning fit to burst, and laughed. "That's amazing, Iwa-senpai!" 

"It's all thanks to you," Iwaizumi said, slinging an arm around his shoulder, and ruffling his hair as he laughed. "I really owe you."

"I didn't do that much!" Tooru protested, but his face was warm and he couldn't stop smiling.

Iwaizumi clicked his tongue. "Of course you did! You have to let me treat you, to say thanks."

Tooru's heart fluttered. "U-um. What do you mean?"

"Are you free on Sunday?" Iwaizumi asked, finally releasing him. He took the test back from Tooru's unresisting hands and folded it up to stow in his pocket. "I thought maybe we could go to the arcade or something. I'll buy you dinner after."

"O-oh," Tooru said, his stomach turning over pleasantly. "I'd love to!"

"Yeah?" Iwaizumi beamed at him. "Maybe...two o'clock?"

Tooru nodded. "Two is perfect."

"Great! I'll see you at practice, yeah?" Iwaizumi said, moving away from him with a wave.

"O-okay! Bye, Iwa-senpai!" 

Feeling dazed, Tooru wandered over to rejoin the girls, picking up his lunch again automatically. 

"What did that third year want, Oikawa-kun?" Sato asked.

"Never mind that," Nikida said, waving her hand dismissively. "Are you coming to the mall on Saturday, Oikawa-kun? We're going to meet at the station at two-thirty, then—"

"Oh," Tooru said, a brief flash of guilt curtailing the somersaults in his belly. He winced. "Sorry, I—just remembered I have plans on Sunday. I'll come next time."

Fujimoto glanced around at the others. "Well...maybe we could postpone it?" she suggested.

Sato shook her head. "I can't, we're going to see my grandparents next weekend, and Mom says I need to buy a new yukat before then."

"It's okay," Tooru said with an apologetic smile. "You all go without me, I can come another time."

"If you're sure," Nikida said, shrugging. 

He nodded, and the girls soon moved onto a new topic of conversation. Tooru barely heard them. He couldn't stop thinking about Sunday, and spending a whole afternoon with Iwaizumi. And no matter how many times he told himself not to be silly, he couldn't help thinking that this kind of felt like a date.

—

Sunday came around impossibly slowly,and Tooru was practically vibrating when it was finally time to meet Iwaizumi at the station in Sendai. Iwaizumi was already waiting for him when he arrived, looking effortlessly cool even though he was huddled under a bright green frog umbrella.

Tooru hurried over to him, laughing breathlessly. "I like your umbrella."

Iwaizumi snorted. "It's Chiaki's. I left mine at school." He indicated with his head. "Come on."

The arcade was busy because of the bad weather, but not overly so, and they were easily able to find a game they could play together. Iwaizumi proved to be good at racing games, and terrible at pretty much everything else, and submitted gracefully to Tooru making fun of his competitive streak, which it turned out was even worse than Tooru's when it came to games. 

"I'm going to beat you next time," Iwaizumi said after they'd retired from the arcade to a nearby fast food restaurant. He set down the tray containing their food, then spun it around so Tooru's food was in front of him.

Tooru's chest fluttered at the prospect of _next time_ , but he didn't press the point, too focused on unwrapping his burger. "Iwa-senpai is welcome to try," was all he said, flashing Iwaizumi a wink before tucking into his food.

Iwaizumi chuckled. "I knew it, under that goody two shoes exterior, you're just a brat."

Tooru shrugged one shoulder, and flicked his hair in response, then took a bite out of his burger. It tasted like _heaven_ , and he released an unconscious moan as he started to chew slowly.

"You okay there?" Iwaizumi asked, watching him with an odd look on his face.

Tooru just nodded, too intent on eating to reply. 

Laughing softly, Iwaizumi knocked the toe of his trainer against Tooru's foot, and left it there as they both quickly demolished their food.

"This is really good," Tooru moaned around the last mouthful of his burger. He swallowed and grinned at Iwaizumi. "My mom never lets me eat stuff like this." 

" _Now_ you tell me that," Iwaizumi said, rolling his eyes, but he was still smiling, so he wasn't mad. After a moment he leaned across the table, stretching his hand out to Tooru. 

Tooru froze. "What is it?" he asked, watching Iwaizumi's hand draw near to his face. 

"Hold still," Iwaizumi murmured, before dragging his thumb over the corner of Tooru's mouth. He pulled it away again, and briefly stuck his thumb in his mouth before releasing it with a _pop_. Tooru stared at him. "You had some ketchup on your face," Iwaizumi said, a smile tugging at one side of his mouth.

"Thanks," Tooru said, though it came out barely above a whisper. The imprint of Iwaizumi's thumb was still warm against his cheek, and it hadn't escaped his notice that said thumb had gone straight from Tooru's mouth to Iwaizumi's. The girls in Tooru's class were always getting giddy over the romance of the "indirect kiss", but Tooru had never fully appreciated the appeal until that moment. He knew that he was staring, but he couldn't seem to drag his gaze away from Iwaizumi's mouth.

"You okay?" Iwaizumi asked.

Tooru nodded wordlessly.

"You wanna finish my fries?" 

"Oh…no, I'm okay." 

Iwaizumi grinned. "Wanna get out of here then?"

"Yeah," Tooru said, returning his smile.

It had stopped raining when they left the fast food place, so they walked down to the river. Iwaizumi walked quickly, and Tooru had to hurry slightly to keep pace with him. When they finally reached the path by the river's edge, Iwaizumi stopped, looking out at the water. 

"Are you okay?" Tooru asked, when Iwaizumi didn't say anything.

"I'm great," Iwaizumi said, glancing at him. "You?"

Tooru nodded. "Thank you for treating me! You really didn't have to. I had fun though."

Iwaizumi gave him a strange, crooked smile. "I did too. Can I walk you home?"

"You don't have to," Tooru muttered, his face heating.

Iwaizumi huffed with laughter. "Well, maybe I want to, did you think of that?"

"O-oh," Tooru stammered, his blush increasing tenfold. He lifted his chin haughtily. "Well, of course you do, I am very clever and popular, you know."

"Uh huh," Iwaizumi said, laughing as he humoured him. "And you're not at all full of yourself."

Tooru nodded. "Exactly. I'm glad you understand."

Iwaizumi fell in step with him, and they began chattering about the previous day's practice, and what their favourite kind of food was, and what they'd do with themselves if they were the only person left on earth. Tooru's blush slowly faded, and he relaxed into enjoying Iwaizumi's company, trying not to think too hard about the afternoon they'd spent together, or how much this felt like how he imagined a date would feel, if you spent it with someone you really liked. 

By some unspoken understanding, they walked more slowly when they reached Tooru's street, neither speaking. It had rained for most of the day, but it had finally ceased in time for their walk home. The setting sun shone on the wet pavement, lighting up their path, and throwing their long shadows ahead of them, slightly angled so that it looked as though they were holding hands. Tooru regretted the break in the weather, and the lost chance to share an umbrella with Iwaizumi, even if it did have a frog on it.

Finally they reached Tooru's house, and Tooru turned and paused on the doorstep. "Thank you," he said softly. "For today."

Iwaizumi huffed, smiling faintly. "I'm supposed to be thanking you, remember? I would've definitely failed that test without your help."

Tooru grinned. "You're welcome."

"Yeah," Iwaizumi murmured, his gaze dropping from Tooru's eyes to his mouth. "Oikawa—"

Tooru's heart leapt in his chest. Iwaizumi was so close, and as Tooru stood, trembling, Iwaizumi placed a hand against the wall beside his head and moved closer.

The sudden sound of a door slamming a few houses away made them both jump, startling away from one another. Voices and laughter echoed along the street, moving away from them. Tooru pressed a hand over his racing heart, and slowly looked up to meet Iwaizumi's gaze again. They stared at one another for a few seconds, then they both laughed. 

"I should get home," Iwaizumi said, taking a step back. "See you at school."

"Ah—see you," Tooru said in a breathy voice. He waited until Iwaizumi had gone, then he pressed his shoulders back against the door and sank down onto the doorstep with a sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for teasing...I promise their mouths are going to touch VERY soon. 
> 
> your comments really keep me going, thank you so much!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PUCKER UP, LOSERS
> 
> this chapter now has [ART](https://twitter.com/skmisfit/status/1287216960246358016)!!! (spoilers for this chap) by the wonderful skmisfit. link again at the end in case you want to go on unspoiled!

It was the day after his _not_ -date with Iwaizumi, and Tooru was feeling listless. Summer break was almost upon them, and it being Monday meant that there was no volleyball practice. He hadn't even seen Iwaizumi yet that day, and after a brief, fruitless search for him at the start of lunch break, Tooru had retired to the library to escape the rain. 

Fujimoto was filling him in on what she and the others had gotten up to at the mall, and Tooru surreptitiously pulled out his phone just to see whether Iwaizumi might have emailed him. He didn't have any messages. With a sigh, Tooru folded his arms on the desk and leaned forward to rest his chin on top. 

"And then Sato-chan wanted to get a milkshake, so we all went—what's wrong, Tooru-kun?" Fujimoto asked. 

Tooru sighed again. "Nothing." 

She leaned over and prodded his arm. "Come on, you can tell me." 

For a few brief seconds, Tooru considered it, but while he liked Fujimoto a lot, he wasn't yet sure if he felt brave enough to trust her with this. Instead he straightened up, drawing on a bright, false smile. "It's really nothing," he said, "just a headache." He tapped the edge of his glasses frames. "I probably need to get my prescription checked."

She brightened. "Can I try on your glasses?" 

Tooru's smile faltered. "I didn't know you wore glasses, Fujimoto-chan."

"Oh, I don't, I just wanted to see what they'd look like on me. Can I?" 

"Ah…maybe another time," he said, leaning back in his seat. "It might make my headache worse if I keep taking them off." 

"Oh!" she said, eyes widening. "I'm so sorry, I didn't even think of that." 

He shrugged. "It's fine."

"Say, Oikawa-kun," she asked, reaching up to fidget with one of her braids. "Would you like to go to the bakery with me after school?"

Tooru winced. "I'm not sure I can tonight."

Fujimoto's smile didn't waver. "That's alright. Another time then, Tooru-kun." 

He nodded. "Definitely. Ah...sorry, Fujimoto-chan, but I have some work I need to finish before class this afternoon."

"Of course!" she said, jumping up from her seat. "I need to go and check if Takeda can switch cleaning duties with me anyway. Good luck with your homework!"

"Thanks," Tooru said without enthusiasm. He smiled at her weakly. "See you later then."

"Bye!" 

When she'd gone, Tooru pulled out his homework and tried to focus on it. He couldn't tell if he was tired or just not in the mood, but he struggled even with the first problem on the worksheet. Tooru picked up his textbook and squinted at it. Maybe it was a misprint. Or maybe he'd just forgotten how to do calculus and should just give up now and go work in a shop.

"Hey, Oikawa?" 

Tooru's head snapped up. "Iwa-senpai!" he yelped, face heating.

Iwaizumi stood over his table, his hands in the pockets of his school trousers. The sleeves of his school shirt were rolled up to his shoulders, showing off his biceps. Tooru bit his cheek and his fingers tightened around the textbook he was holding. This was just _unfair_.

Iwaizumi gave him a tight smile. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" 

"O-oh, sure," Tooru said, his heart starting to race. "What is it?" 

"Uhh…" Iwaizumi glanced around again. The library wasn't particularly busy, but apparently there were too many people for Iwaizumi's liking, because he leaned closer and murmured, "Can we just go over there, behind the shelves?"

Nodding, Tooru clumsily pushed his things into a pile and stood up from his chair. He couldn't fight the sinking feeling that he'd done something wrong. Maybe he'd read things wrong the day before, and Iwaizumi wanted nothing to do with him now. He followed in a cowed silence as Iwaizumi led him around the history section, and past the art books to a dark corner of the library. 

"Um," Tooru ventured, his voice coming out almost as a squeak. "Did I do something?" 

Iwaizumi licked his lips. "No, it's just—" He paused, his gaze darting to the side again. "There was something I wanted to give you last night, but I didn't, and—well, I really wanted to." 

Tooru blinked up at him. He realised that he was still clutching his textbook, but there was nowhere for him to put it down. "Uh. I have a textbook."

"That's okay," Iwaizumi murmured, moving closer to him. He put his hand against the shelf beside Tooru's head. "You don't need your hands for this."

Tooru's eyes widened briefly. "Oh," he whispered.

Iwaizumi leaned in, dark eyelashes lowering as his heavy gaze tripped down from Tooru's eyes to his mouth. "Oikawa," he murmured. His breath touched Tooru's cheek, sending a shiver down his spine. He was so close that Tooru could smell his shampoo, and the warm scent of his skin from walking in the sun. 

"Iwa-senpai…" Tooru's fingers were trembling. He clenched them around his book, nails digging into the spine, and ran the tip of tongue over his bottom lip. 

As Iwaizumi lowered his head, Tooru instinctively tilted his face up, squeezing his eyes shut at the first press of Iwaizumi's mouth against his own. It was tentative, almost ticklish, and Iwaizumi exhaled heavily and drew back a little way.

"You look like you hate this," he murmured.

Tooru opened his eyes, blinking up at the blurry image of Iwaizumi's face over the top of his glasses. His heart was hammering, making his throat jump. "I don't hate it," he whispered hoarsely. 

Iwaizumi's cheek dimpled. "Phew," he sighed, grinning, then he lifted his other hand and cupped it around Tooru's jaw. "I like you."

Tooru flushed, and tipped his face up for another kiss. Iwaizumi leaned in to meet him, and this time when their lips pressed together it was warm and damp and firm. Tooru shuddered when Iwaizumi's fingers ran through his hair. 

"God, you're so cute," Iwaizumi murmured, moving his lips to kiss the corner of Tooru's mouth, then his chin. "Oikawa—I really like you."

"I—I guess you can't help being human," Tooru stammered, biting his lip to try and keep his cool while Iwaizumi started kissing the side of his neck, apparently determined to turn him into a puddle.

Iwaizumi snorted with laughter. "You little asshole," he said, lifting his head to grin at Tooru. 

Tooru smirked at him. "I thought you liked me," he whispered. 

"Maybe I've changed my mind," Iwaizumi teased, pulling back a little way. 

"Wait," Tooru said, lifting one hand to grab a handful of Iwaizumi's t-shirt. He chewed his bottom lip again, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. "I really like you too," he said, and gave Iwaizumi's shirt a little tug. "Kiss me again?" 

Iwaizumi did, and they kissed softly until they were interrupted a minute later by the sound of footsteps nearby. They sprang apart guiltily, Tooru's heart hammering. He glanced around but there was nobody in sight, and he and Iwaizumi exchanged a relieved smile. 

"I wanted to ask you something too," Iwaizumi murmured, moving closer again. 

Tooru could still feel the sensation of Iwaizumi's fingers in his hair, and his stomach was a knot. Iwaizumi was actually going to ask him out. 

"So, uh—my parents are out on Saturday night, and I have to watch Chiaki, but…I wondered if you'd wanna come over for dinner?" 

Tooru blinked at him. "Your parents won't be there?" 

"Well, no, but—" 

"I want to come," Tooru said quickly.

Iwaizumi laughed. "Are you sure? I didn't mean—we don't have to—" 

"No, I want to," Tooru said, nodding. 

"Okay," Iwaizumi said, flashing him a grin.

By the time they emerged from behind the stacks, a few more people had wandered into the library and were browsing the shelves. Tooru and Iwaizumi wordlessly moved further apart as they walked back to where Tooru had left his things.

"Thanks for helping me find that book," Iwaizumi said, winking at Tooru. "Maybe you can help me find another one on Saturday."

Tooru's blush returned instantly. "M-maybe."

Iwaizumi chuckled. "See you around," he said, raising his arm to wave as he took a step toward the door, and Tooru found himself waving back with a dopey grin on his face before he could stop himself. 

—

Tooru wasn't able to make it to volleyball practice for most of the week, and on the two occasions that he did, Coach Mizoguchi kept him so busy that he and Iwaizumi were barely able to exchange more than a few words. Still, Iwaizumi managed to snag a few moments with him before the end of practice on Saturday, catching him by the arm as he ducked into the storage room to collect the mops.

"Hey, Oikawa?"

Tooru lit up. "Iwa-senpai!"

"Are you still coming over tonight?" Iwaizumi asked in a low voice, leaning in close to be heard. 

Tooru's eyes widened, and he nodded. "If Iwa-senpai still wants me to," he said coyly. 

Iwaizumi exhaled heavily, as though he'd been holding his breath. "Of course I do. Come over about seven, alright?"

"Alright," Tooru said, a nervous smile chasing across his face. 

Iwaizumi nodded and let go of his arm. "See you later."

Tooru could barely contain his excitement for the rest of the afternoon. Now that she'd meet him, Tooru's mother seemed much happier about him spending more time with Iwaizumi, and his bragging about helping Iwaizumi pass his test didn't hurt either. 

Finding himself too anxious to sit still, Tooru dragged Takeru out into the garden, and the two of them passed a volleyball back and forth for a while. Takeru had just started playing in a local club for under tens, with Tooru's sister determined to let him play no matter what their mother said. It gave Tooru an excuse to practice with him, on the promise that he wouldn't do anything to injure himself. 

When it started to get late, Tooru went up to his room and spent far too long trying to decide what to wear, changing his shirt three times before realising that he was going to be late if he didn't hurry. 

Hurrying downstairs, he called a farewell to his parents, and retrieved his bike for the ride over. The rain had eased over the past few days, giving way instead to a sticky heat, and Tooru felt like a limp rag as he started to ride over to Iwaizumi's house. 

Ten minutes later, Tooru stepped off his bike and wheeled it past the Iwaizumis' front gate. He was hot, his t-shirt damp, and the short hairs on the back of his neck were curling with sweat. He wasn't sure which to blame for this state; the heat, or the anticipation of being alone with Iwaizumi again after their kiss. 

By the time he looked up from stowing his bike, Iwaizumi was already standing waiting in the doorway. A faint flush tore across Tooru's cheeks. 

"Hey," Iwaizumi called out. "You're late." 

Tooru beamed at him. "Fashionably late!" 

Iwaizumi snorted. "Sure, we can call it that."

Grooming, Tooru slipped off his trainers and followed Iwaizumi into the living room, where Chiaki lay on his stomach, drawing on a big sheet of paper. 

"What're you drawing, Chiakkun?" Tooru asked, dropping to a crouch beside him.

"Architect plans," Chiaki said seriously, without raising his head. 

Iwaizumi snorted. "He's designing a new school building." 

"Are those slides?" Tooru asked, squinting at the parts of the page he could see. 

Chiaki nodded. 

"Chiakkun, say hi to Oikawa." 

Chiaki lifted his head and gave Tooru a toothy grin. "H'lo Oika'a-kun." 

"Are you hungry?" Iwaizumi asked Tooru, while stepping over Chiaki's prone body. "I made zaru soba." 

"I helped!" Chiaki squawked. 

"Chiaki helped," Iwaizumi added without blinking. 

Tooru laughed. "I'd love some."

The three of them sat on the back porch to eat their noodles, resting their bare feet on the damp grass. Iwaizumi's thigh was warm and solid against Tooru's, and he couldn't help wishing they were alone, so that he could move a little closer. Chiaki was a lot of fun though; he was talkative and funny, and it was clear that he worshiped his older brother. 

When they'd finished their noodles, Iwaizumi pulled some watermelon slices out of the fridge while Tooru and Chiaki cheered. He held out the plate, and they each chose a slice and settled in to eat. 

"Oika'a-kun," Chiaki said after a minute. 

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Iwaizumi said shortly, doing exactly that himself. Chiaki glared at him.

"What is it, Chiakkun?" Tooru asked sweetly. 

Chiaki pointed a sticky finger at Tooru's feet. "How come your feet are so big? You're not that tall." 

"Chiaki!" Iwaizumi protested. 

"How big are your hands?" Chiaki went on, undaunted. 

Iwaizumi tutted at him. "What did Mom say about asking rude questions?" he growled. 

Tooru laughed. "It's fine, I don't mind." He held one of his hands out to Chiaki, reaching across Iwaizumi's lap. "What do you think?" 

Chiaki pressed his hand into Tooru's palm, frowning. "I dunno," he muttered, flexing his fingers. After a moment he pulled away again. "You should try with Nii-chan. He's got bigger hands than me." 

In an instant, Tooru became aware of Iwaizumi beside him, the heat and weight of his body, and he swallowed heavily. "That's true," he said, lifting his eyes to meet Iwaizumi's gaze. 

"Let's see," Iwaizumi murmured, holding up his left hand. He pressed his palm against Tooru's, a faint smile catching the corner of his mouth. 

Tooru's heart beat wildly. Iwaizumi's hand was warm, and rough with calluses from playing volleyball. 

"You have really long fingers," Iwaizumi murmured, pressing their fingertips together.

"Is that a good thing?" Tooru asked, wincing at the squeak in his voice. 

"I think it's cute," Iwaizumi said. 

"Hey!" Chiaki said loudly, startling Tooru into pulling his hand away. "Your hands are the same size!" his round face was scandalised, and he frowned up at Tooru. "But you're not as tall as Nii-chan!" 

Tooru gave him a rueful smile. "Mama says I'm like a puppy. You know how their feet get big first, then the rest of them grows big."

"Wait," Iwaizumi said, eyes narrowing. "How big?" 

"How should I know?" Tooru said dismissively, waving his hand. "My father is a hundred and eighty-five centimetres though."

Iwaizumi looked horrified. "One-eighty-five?"

Tooru nodded, a wicked grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Mama said I might grow to one-ninety."

"Please tell me you're kidding," Iwaizumi said, groaning. 

"What's the matter, Iwa-senpai?" Tooru asked, his eyes sparkling. "Worried I might outstrip you?"

Iwaizumi gave a helpless laugh. "I already know you're gonna do _that_ ," he said, turning to Tooru. His expression was so earnest, so gentle, that Tooru had to look away, heat chasing up the back of his neck. Iwaizumi turned to laugh at Chiaki, who was attempting to spit watermelon seeds across the grass without much success. 

Grateful for the distraction, Tooru looked down at his palm briefly. He could still feel the press of Iwaizumi's fingers, and he wished they'd been alone so he could've linked their fingers together, or tilted his face up to ask for a kiss. His face flushed at the thought. He wanted to kiss Iwaizumi again, so much that it was like a physical hook in his chest, trying to drag him forward. 

"Hey, Chiakkun. Like this." Iwaizumi took a bite of his watermelon and chewed for a few moments, then spit half a dozen seeds clear across the grass to the far side of the garden. 

Chiaki laughed, startled, and leaned back to peer at Tooru. "Can you do that?" he asked, an unmistakable glint of challenge in his eyes. 

"Psh, of course I can," Tooru bragged, glancing sidelong at Iwaizumi. "But, uh…I already finished my watermelon."

"You can have some of mine," Iwaizumi said, his face deadpan. 

Tooru opened his mouth while still scrambling for a reply. He was saved from replying by the sound of Chiakkun trying and failing to spit his own seeds, mostly ending up with them stuck to his t-shirt. 

"Nii-chan!" he said loudly. "How d'you make 'em go so far?"

Iwaizumi was still watching Tooru. "It's all about knowing how to use your tongue," he said quietly. He cocked his head at Tooru, and offered him his own half-eaten slice. "Do you know how to use your tongue, Oikawa?"

Tooru felt like he might erupt. He was certain that his face was scarlet. "I—"

"Hey, nice job!" Iwaizumi cheered, as Chiaki finally managed to send a few seeds past his feet. 

Grimacing, Tooru took a small bite of Iwaizumi's watermelon, then shoved it back at him without meeting his gaze. They stayed out on the porch for a little longer, then Chiaki spoke up again.

"Can we still watch a movie?" he asked, making puppy dog eyes at his brother.

Iwaizumi hummed, and turned to Tooru. "What do you think?" he asked. "Want to watch a movie?

Tooru nodded eagerly. "What kind of movie?"

"Godzilla!!" Chiaki shouted, jumping to his feet. "Nii-chan, be Godzilla again!" He darted over and grabbed Tooru's hand. "Me an' Oika'a-kun will be the people running away!"

"What?" Tooru asked, laughing as Chiaki dragged him to his feet. As they began to run across the garden, Tooru looked over his shoulder and saw Iwaizumi getting up and stomping his feet in the grass.

"He's coming!" Chiaki shrieked, tugging on Tooru's hand.

Tooru joined in with Chiaki's laughter, and gave himself up to the silliness of it. For the next few minutes he raced around the garden with Chiaki's hand in his, while Iwaizumi chased after them at a comparatively sedate pace, occasionally roaring and stomping his feet. At one point Iwaizumi caught up to them and scooped Chiaki up in his arms, pretending to take noisy bites out of his midsection. 

"No—o…!" Chiaki cried, making exaggerated choking sounds as Iwaizumi lowered him to the ground again. He finally collapsed dramatically. "Run, save yourself!"

Tooru hesitated, but then Iwaizumi straightened up, and growled as he licked his lips deliberately. "Oh no," Tooru said, and then yelped as Iwaizumi began to chase after him in earnest. Tooru scrambled away from him, but Iwaizumi was faster, and Tooru gasped at the wind being knocked out of him as Iwaizumi caught him around the waist and bore him to the ground.

They landed in a heap, although Iwaizumi had turned them slightly as they fell so that he cushioned most of the impact. His arms were wrapped firmly around Tooru's waist, heavy and warm. Tooru could smell his fresh shampoo, the watermelon on his sticky breath, and he shivered when Iwaizumi's fingers brushed over the edge of his ridden up t-shirt, and curled around his hip. 

"Caught you," Iwaizumi said, his voice a soft growl against the back of Tooru's neck. "Now I get to eat you."

"Iwa-senpai," Tooru gasped. His heart pounded. Iwaizumi's lips were against his nape, lingering over his damp hairline. 

"Hey!"

They startled apart at Chiaki's approach. Tooru scrambled to his feet first, and turned to offer Iwaizumi a hand up, thrilling at the feel of his strong, warm palm. 

"Did he eat you?" Chiaki asked solemnly.

"Does—does Godzilla eat people?" Tooru murmured breathlessly. 

Iwaizumi laughed. "Of course he does." He moved closer, slinging his arm around Tooru's neck. "But even if he didn't, I'd make an exception for you."

Tooru shivered again, heat rushing to his face. "Are we watching a movie or not?" he said, pulling away from Iwaizumi to catch his breath, and trusting in the falling darkness to hide his blush. 

"Let's go let's go," Chiaki chanted, making a dash for the house.

"Hey, that's enough running!" Iwaizumi called after him. He rolled his eyes at Tooru, grinning, and the three of them made their way inside. 

It took a little fussing and bickering, but finally the three of them settled down to watch a movie together. Tooru confessed in a whisper that he'd never seen a Godzilla movie, and almost regretted it at the shock and horror on Iwaizumi's face, but then Iwaizumi grinned. 

"That's good," he said softly. "I get to see you watch it for the first time."

Tooru was glad of the dark hiding his blush. Chiaki had demanded to sit between them on the couch, but as the movie started, Iwaizumi put his arm up over the back of the cushions. He patted the back of the couch, clearing his throat softly until Tooru glanced at him. He read the look in Iwaizumi's eyes instantly, and reached up to stretch his own arm over the back of the cushions so that their fingers could touch. 

It made it hard to concentrate on the movie at first. Tooru tried to focus, but his heart was pounding, and all he could think about was Iwaizumi's warm fingers slowly tangling with his own, the way he stroked the pad of his thumb back and forth along the side of Tooru's finger. After a few minutes though, he settled into it, and managed not to have a heart attack every time Iwaizumi moved his hand or laced their fingers together in some new way that set his heart pounding.

When the movie finally came to a close, Chiaki was slumped against Iwaizumi's side, half-asleep. 

"Come on, kiddo." Iwaizumi nudged Chiaki gently until he stood, swaying on the spot, then he bent down and picked him up. "I gotta make sure he gets to bed," he said, touching Tooru's shoulder briefly as he moved away. "Don't go anywhere."

"I won't," Tooru whispered back. "Goodnight, Chiakkun!"

"Night, Oika'a-kun," Chiaki mumbled. 

Iwaizumi was only upstairs for a few minutes. Tooru could hear him encouraging Chiaki to brush his teeth, then the soft sound of their voices somewhere overhead as he tucked Chiaki into bed. Tooru paced the room nervously, his stomach full of butterflies. He was eager for Iwaizumi to return, and anxious about what he'd say or do when he did. His hand was still tingling from where Iwaizumi had held it. 

Finally, Iwaizumi's footsteps descended the stairs slowly. Tooru drew in a deep, anticipatory breath.

"Ah...hey," Iwaizumi said, appearing in the doorway. He put his hand to the back of his neck, ruffling his hair. "I, uh. I put him to bed."

Tooru licked his bottom lip. "That's good," he said. 

Iwaizumi nodded. He moved a step closer. "Do you need to get home, or…?"

Tooru bit his lip. "Or…?"

For a moment, the word hung in the air. Neither of them moved, or spoke. Then, Iwaizumi took a step closer, until he and Tooru were toe to toe. He moved his hand a fraction, catching hold of Tooru's fingertips with his own. "Can I—"

"Yes," Tooru said, before he could finish, looking up into Iwaizumi's eyes. 

Iwaizumi smiled, then he leaned in and kissed Tooru very softly. It only lasted for a breath, before Iwaizumi pulled away slightly, opening his eyes. "Is this okay?"

"More than," Tooru whispered, curling his fingers into Iwaizumi's palm, and tugging on the hem of his shirt with his other hand. "I've been waiting all week for you to kiss me again."

"Oikawa," Iwaizumi groaned, pulling him closer, pressing his face into Tooru's neck. "Mmm…I thought he'd never go to sleep."

"Iwa-senpai," Tooru sighed, slipping his arms around Iwaizumi's back and hugging him tightly. 

Iwaizumi released him after a minute, letting his hands fall to Tooru's hips. "I'm glad you came."

"Me too," Tooru said, smiling. He tilted his head up, asking for another kiss, and Iwaizumi obliged him without hesitation. 

It was the nicest kiss Tooru had ever shared. Not that he'd kissed very many people, but he'd kissed a few girls, and it had never caused this swooping in his stomach, this rush of heat that spread from his chest outwards. Iwaizumi's tongue pressed at his lower lip, and Tooru parted his mouth with a soft moan, tentatively pressing his hand against Iwaizumi's chest, while Iwaizumi's fingers moved up to cup his jaw. 

They broke off a moment later, breathless. Tooru licked his bottom lip, realising he could taste Iwaizumi there. 

"I've wanted to do that for weeks," Iwaizumi murmured. 

Tooru blinked at him. "You have?" he squeaked.

Iwaizumi laughed, and pressed his forehead against Tooru's. "I thought you were supposed to be smart."

"I—I'm not used to people liking me!" 

"Yeah, pull the other one," Iwaizumi said, snorting. "All those girls you hang out with are half in love with you." 

Tooru stared at him. "What do you mean?"

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. "No, no way." He laughed as he pulled away from Tooru. "I'm not stroking your ego anymore than I need to." 

"B-but—Iwa-senpai!" Tooru protested, trailing after him. 

They rounded the couch, then Iwaizumi turned suddenly and pulled Tooru down onto the cushions. They crumpled into a warm heap, but then Iwaizumi was kissing him again, his lips moving across Tooru's cheek and seeking out his mouth, and Tooru forgot to feel embarrassed. They kissed eagerly at first, then they began to slow down, tentatively putting their hands on each other, giving breathless little gasps against each other's lips at the unfamiliar sensations. Tooru couldn't help wondering how many people Iwaizumi had kissed before him, whether he'd ever kissed another boy like this, but then Iwaizumi lifted up the back of his shirt and pressed his hand flat against Tooru's skin, and Tooru forgot how to think. 

Tooru wasn't sure how long they kissed for. All he could think about was where to put his hands next, or turning his head to make space while Iwaizumi kissed his neck, his shoulder, tugging aside his t-shirt to get to bare skin. By the time they broke apart, both panting, Tooru felt weak and shivery. 

"You're trembling," Iwaizumi whispered, taking hold of one of Tooru's shaking hands. He brought it to his mouth and kissed Tooru's knuckles. "Are you okay?"

Tooru nodded. "Better than okay," he whispered back. 

Iwaizumi grinned, and slowly stroked his fingers through Tooru's hair. His touch made electricity ripple down Tooru's spine, and he leaned into it with a soft, longing sound.

"Wow," Iwaizumi murmured, biting his lip. He leaned closer again, nudging his mouth against Tooru's cheek. "You're so cute."

"I _am_ adorable," Tooru agreed, just to feel Iwaizumi's breathless laughter against his lips. He turned his head and kissed him slowly. "But Iwa-senpai is very handsome too."

Iwaizumi laughed. "Oikawa—"

Suddenly the door creaked behind them. "...Nii-chan?"

Iwaizumi's eyes widened, and he sat up quickly, almost knocking Tooru off the couch in his hurry. "Chiaki! What're you doing up?"

"...bad dream," Chiaki mumbled. He blinked at them, squinting in the light. "What are you and Oikawa-kun doing?"

"Just—just playing a game," Iwaizumi said, scrambling to his feet. He went over to Chiaki and scooped him up in his arms. "Sorry," he mouthed over Chiaki's shoulder.

Tooru shook his head, getting to his feet. "I should probably get home anyway," he said. He gave Chiaki a little wave. "You get to bed, Chiakkun, okay?"

Chiaki nodded, then tucked his face into Iwaizumi's neck.

"Sorry," Iwaizumi whispered. "Are you okay getting home?"

"I'll be fine," Tooru said, smiling at him.

Iwaizumi nodded. "I'll text you."

Tooru's smile widened. "I can't wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who else wants iwa-chan to pretend to be godzilla and chase them around a garden raise your hands
> 
>   
> it would be really neat of you to [share this fic](https://twitter.com/notallbees/status/1286028785528209408) on twitter :3c
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> you can view and share the beautiful accompanying art [right here!!](https://twitter.com/skmisfit/status/1287216960246358016)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yoooo sorry I haven't updated this one in so long! I hope you're all ready for some cute summer boys escapism :3c

It was the final week of school, and the desperation in the student population was palpable. The classrooms were hot and sticky, and lessons were hard to focus on. Even more so for Tooru, who for once in his life couldn't focus on schoolwork at all. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate, he was constantly distracted by Iwaizumi. By the thought of kissing him, of his soft, firm lips, the way his hands grasped Tooru's hips, the way it had felt to press their fingers together. It was all he could think about. 

He even found himself starting to get distracted by it during volleyball practice. It didn't seem to matter that Iwaizumi was in the same room as him, it wasn't as though they could sneak off to kiss in the middle of practice, and having the object of his affections directly within eyesight only made the obsession more acute. 

There was no time for them to sneak off together all week, and their text chain became increasingly frenzied as they described and imagined what it would be like when they were finally able to snatch a few moments alone together again. 

Tooru was helping everyone to pack up at the end of Friday's practice, when Iwaizumi suddenly jogged over to him and took over wheeling the ball cart from him. "Ask your mom about becoming the manager," he said without preamble. "Officially, I mean."

Tooru stared at him, then glanced around as if afraid that someone might overhear and somehow discover them from what Iwaizumi had said. "Uh—"

"We have a training camp soon," Iwaizumi said. "We stay over for a week, and practice all day. If you're the manager, you can come too."

"Oh, are you asking him?" Hanamaki said as he was passing by. He stopped and leaned his weight on Iwaizumi's shoulder, grinning down at Tooru. "You're gonna come, right? Even Coach says you've made a big difference to our stats and stuff."

Tooru flushed. "Really?"

Iwaizumi snorted, and shoved Hanamaki away. "Whatever you do, do _not_ feed his ego anymore."

"Iwa-senpai!" Tooru protested. 

"Play nice, Captain," Matsukawa teased as he passed them too. "Are you joining, Oikawa?"

"I—I think so?" 

"Great, see you at camp then."

Tooru beamed, and Iwaizumi laughed when he saw the way Tooru was grinning. "See?" he said. "I told you they liked you." He reached out and ruffled Tooru's hair, his hand lingering for just half a second too long. "Will you ask?"

"Definitely," Tooru said, nodding eagerly. 

Iwaizumi beamed at him. "Good luck."

—

"No, no, absolutely not."

Tooru stared at his mother in horror. "Mama—!" 

Saya shook her head. "I'm sorry, Tooru, it's impossible."

"But—"

"I will let you join the team," she said, holding up her finger, "as a manager only. But I absolutely cannot let you go to this camp. We're going to visit your grandparents that week, and your father already took time off work. I'm afraid we can't reschedule it."

Recognising that there was absolutely no changing her mind, Tooru wilted. "Alright," he muttered. "Thank you, Mama."

"Oh, Tooru," she sighed, moving closer to him and putting her hand on the back of his neck, tucking him against her side. She always used to do the same thing when he was younger, but he was bigger now, just a centimetre or two taller than she was. "I do understand, sweetheart," she said softly. "I know you want to be with your friends." She drew back and cupped his face between her hands. "If there's another camp, or a game or something before the end of summer, I promise you can go to it, alright?"

He nodded, biting his lip. It wasn't ideal, but it was something. He resolved to text Iwaizumi straight away and find out if there was another camp—and, if not, demand that he organise one.

"I'm glad you've made friends with that Iwaizumi boy, Tooru," Saya said, smiling at him. "He's a nice boy."

Tooru nodded again. "Iwa-senpai is amazing."

"I know we can be hard on you, but that's only because we want the best for you."

"I know, Mama."

She smiled and patted his shoulder. "Good boy."

Tooru escaped from the kitchen, and grabbing his phone, he pulled on his trainers and walked to the park nearby. It was getting late, so there wasn't anyone around, and he hovered by the light of a vending machine, trying to decide whether or not he wanted to buy a drink, while he texted Iwaizumi.

Tooru☆: Good news or bad news first?

Iwa-senpai: hmm  
Iwa-senpai: bad?

Tooru☆: Mama said I can't go to the training camp  
Tooru☆: We're going away to visit my grandparents  
Tooru☆: Sorry :( 

Iwa-senpai: aw that's ok  
Iwa-senpai: there's another training camp at the end of summer  
Iwa-senpai: maybe u can come to that :) 

Tooru☆: Yes!! Mama already promised I can go to that!

Iwa-senpai: wow rly??  
Iwa-senpai: can u talk now?

Tooru☆: Sure!

Tooru's phone started to ring, and he answered it immediately. "Iwa-senpai?"

"Hey." Iwaizumi's voice was soft and warm, and Tooru hummed happily. "So, was that the good news?"

"Oh!" Tooru said excitedly, and proceeded to explain about his mother giving permission for him to join the club. As he was speaking, several cars drove past, and when he'd finished, Iwaizumi made a thoughtful noise before asking where he was. "At the park, near my house," Tooru said, frowning. "Why?"

There was a pause. Then, "Stay right there."

"Iwa-senpai?" Tooru looked at his phone, but Iwaizumi had already hung up. Shrugging, he turned his attention back to the vending machine and picked something to drink. He was sitting in the grass by the swings when Iwaizumi arrived ten minutes later, dropping his bike on the grass and jogging over to where Tooru sat. 

"Hey," he said, halting a few steps in front of Tooru.

Tooru beamed at him. "Hey yourself."

Iwaizumi laughed. "Is this weird? I didn't really think about it before I got on my bike."

Tooru shook his head, his heart racing. "I don't think it's weird. I—I'm glad you came." He patted the grass beside him. "Want to sit down?"

"Actually," Iwaizumi said, dropping to a crouch in front of him and lowering his voice. "I really just want to kiss you again."

Heat rushed to Tooru's face. "O-oh, um—me too," he admitted, smiling shyly. He glanced around, looking for a sheltered spot where they might be out of sight. There was the vending machine, but it didn't afford a great deal of cover, and as soon as someone came into the park they'd be in full view.

"How about up there?" Iwaizumi asked, gesturing to the wooden tower in the playground. It had a ladder leading up to it, and a slide coming out the other side, and most importantly, the tower was enclosed on all four sides.

"Oh, yes," Tooru said, eyes wide. He held out his hand, and Iwaizumi pulled him to his feet.

They raced each other over to the playground, and Tooru began to climb eagerly, hauling himself into the little wooden tower. It was smaller than it had seemed from the outside, smaller than he remembered from when he was younger, especially when Iwaizumi climbed in after him.

"Huh. Cosy," Iwaizumi observed, crouching beside Tooru so that they were almost, but not quite touching. 

It was dark inside the wooden tower. There was just enough light to make out where he ended and Iwaizumi began, to recognise the familiar, handsome lines of his face. In the close space, every sound was amplified, Iwaizumi's breathing loud in his ears. 

"It's like a little castle," Iwaizumi murmured.

Tooru flashed him a nervous grin. "That makes me the king."

Iwaizumi wrinkled his nose. "How come you get to be king?"

"I was here first," Tooru said smugly. He reached out and placed his shaking hand against Iwaizumi's chest. "But you can be my brave knight."

"In your dreams," Iwaizumi murmured, taking Tooru's hand in his own. He lifted it to his face and kissed the heel of Tooru's palm softly, making his heart kick into overdrive. 

"Iwa-senpai," Tooru whispered, staring at him. 

Iwaizumi leaned closer, drawing Tooru's arm smoothly around his neck. "Can I kiss you, your highness?"

"Majesty," Tooru whispered, closing his eyes as Iwaizumi leaned in.

Iwaizumi paused. "Huh?"

Tooru opened his eyes again. "If I'm a king, it's 'your majesty', not 'your highness'."

"Oh my god," Iwaizumi said, laughing under his breath, and then his lips were on Tooru's, warm and chapped and soft. 

With a groan, Tooru wrapped his arm more tightly around Iwaizumi's neck and kissed him back eagerly. Iwaizumi made a low sound and pressed closer. 

At first Tooru was only aware of the heat of Iwaizumi's mouth and the close, intoxicating smell of his hair and skin. Then he began to notice the rest again: the sensation of his own heartbeat crashing against his ribs; the sound of their mingled gasps and quiet moans; the faint taste of mint on Iwaizumi's tongue. 

It was hard to maneuver themselves in the tight space. When Iwaizumi tried to pull Tooru into his lap, Tooru banged his head on the low roof, then Iwaizumi slipped backwards and banged his elbow. Stifling their giggles, they kissed clumsily until they were able to stop grinning into it. When they'd gotten over their amusement, Tooru climbed into Iwaizumi's lap again, and Iwaizumi's warm hands crawled up beneath his shirt to rest on his bare skin.

"How—long—can you stay?" Iwaizumi whispered, pressing his lips against the side of Tooru's neck. 

Tooru gave a shudder. "Not long, Mama will be expecting me home soon."

Iwaizumi groaned softly, but nodded his head. "Alright," he whispered, though his hands didn't loosen their grip on Tooru's waist, and his lips didn't stray from his skin just yet. "Just a few more minutes."

"Yeah," Tooru breathed, hungry for him. He sought out Iwaizumi's mouth again and kissed him, digging his teeth into Iwaizumi's lower lip. Iwaizumi shifted beneath him, and Tooru realised with a start that he was beginning to get an erection. He tried to lean his hips away, but Iwaizumi held them firmly.

"It's okay," he whispered, mouth soft against Tooru's. "I won't do anything, but you don't have to hide it."

Shuddering, Tooru nodded, and poured himself back into kissing Iwaizumi, pressing against him shamelessly, both of them breathless, their chests heaving together as they kissed. Tooru's mouth started to feel numb and overused, lips tingling. They both drew back by silent agreement, pressing their foreheads together as they panted into each other's mouths. 

"It's getting late," Iwaizumi said at last, his voice rough and low. "I should get you home."

Tooru wanted to protest, but he'd only just gotten his mother on side, and didn't want to risk her ire. He nodded weakly, though he made no effort to move.

Iwaizumi gave a helpless laugh, and kissed him again softly. "We'll see each other again soon," he promised.

"When?" Tooru whispered.

Iwaizumi hummed. "I have plans with my family this weekend, but I can hang out any day next week."

"Next week," Tooru agreed, nodding eagerly. 

"And you'll come to practice, right? We start again from Tuesday."

In his pocket, his phone started to buzz, and he swore under his breath. "Mama," he murmured by way of explanation, and reluctantly climbed off Iwaizumi's lap. The two of them scrambled out of the wooden tower and down the ladder, then walked over to where Iwaizumi had left his bike. 

"I'd better get home too," Iwaizumi said, his eyes lingering on Tooru as they stood together under a street light. "I'll text you."

Tooru nodded, grinning. "You'd better."

—

The following Monday, Tooru and Iwaizumi took Takeru and Chiaki out with them for the day at their parents' insistence. Tooru couldn't help feeling a touch resentful at being forced to share Iwaizumi, but it wasn't as bad as he'd imagined. They went for a hike in the nearby hills, and while the kids raced on ahead, Tooru and Iwaizumi walked side by side, talking easily, occasionally letting their fingers brush together. 

At the summit they stopped and had a picnic, and Iwaizumi took pictures of the kids goofing around with his phone. When they'd scampered off to play again, Iwaizumi put an arm around Tooru's shoulders and pulled him in close so he could take a picture of them together.

Tooru's heart was racing as Iwaizumi let him go again, and he wished fervently that they were alone. 

On the other hand, spending the whole week in the same place as Iwaizumi was heaven. Tooru was worried that he might be in the way, but Coach Irihata found plenty for him to do: filling water bottles, arranging uniforms and vests, keeping scores and notes on the players, collecting stray balls. 

"Oikawa." 

Tooru had been given the task of wiping off the dirty volleyballs, and he looked up in surprise at the sound of a familiar voice. "Kageyama," he said, narrowing his eyes. "What do _you_ want?"

Kageyama frowned. "You spend a lot of time with Iwaizumi-senpai."

"Is there a question in there, Kageyama-kun?" Tooru asked, resisting the urge to hiss at him.

"Iwaizumi-senpai said you helped him with his serve," Kageyama said. 

Bristling, Tooru clicked his tongue. "I'm still not hearing a question. What's your point?"

Kageyama blinked at him. "How did you do it? Could you help me—"

"No," Tooru said quickly, jumping to his feet. He realised he was still holding one of the volleyballs, and he thrust it into Kageyama's arms with some force. "No, Kageyama, I am _not_ helping _you_."

"Why not?" Kageyama asked, scowling at him. 

"I'm just not," Tooru snapped, heat rushing to his cheeks. "Leave me alone." Leaving Kageyama behind, Tooru stomped out of the gym, then sank to a crouch in the hot sun, his back pressed to the wall. He liked being around the team practising, even though he couldn't join in. But something about being confronted with Kageyama specifically was too sharp of a sting, even if Tooru knew it wasn't really Kageyama's fault he'd had to stop playing. 

"Hey. You okay?"

Tooru's shoulders stiffened. He got clumsily to his feet, forcing a smile. "I'm fine, uh...Kyou...tani-senpai?"

Kyoutani nodded. "Drop the senpai. You get into it with Kageyama?"

Tooru bit his lip. "We...don't get along."

"Mm." Kyoutani eyed him curiously. "How d'you know Iwaizumi-senpai?"

"Oh...we just met one day. We do maths together."

Kyoutani raised his eyebrows. "Huh." He shrugged. "Don't fight Kageyama."

Tooru huffed. "I don't plan on fighting anyone."

"Good," Kyoutani said. He jerked his head toward the door. "Come on. Coach wants you to referee three on three."

Tooru's eyes widened. "He does?"

Kyoutani didn't answer him, going on ahead into the gym without waiting to see if Tooru was following him. After taking a deep breath, Tooru followed. 

—

On Thursday, Tooru and Iwaizumi managed to sneak into town together for a couple of hours after volleyball practice ended. They slunk around the arcade again for a while, challenging each other to various games in an escalating series of one-upmanship, then retired to the same burger place as last time. Tooru almost choked on his milkshake when Iwaizumi pressed his knee against Tooru's thigh and didn't move it away. He caught Iwaizumi watching him, waiting for his reaction, and he grinned and pressed back. 

It was all the closeness they managed before Tooru left on Friday with his parents, his sister and Takeru to go and visit his grandparents in the country. They lived a couple of hours' drive from Sendai, and Tooru spent most of the journey there sulking, and longing for Iwaizumi to text him. 

Once they arrived, though, it wasn't so bad. Tooru got on well with his grandparents, and although he had to share a room with Takeru, the inconvenience was balanced out by the cool, refreshing air up in the mountains. 

The biggest drawback was that there wasn't good phone reception up there, and his grandparents didn't have WiFi, which meant that his communication with Iwaizumi was sporadic. Still, Iwaizumi sent him daily updates about how they were getting on at training camp, interspersed with the occasional message that made Tooru blush and shove his phone in his pocket before anyone could see.

The week, usually passing in a haze of fishing, hiking and lounging around in his grandparents' garden, seemed to go on forever. Every minute lasted an hour, each hour a day. He did his best to enjoy himself, swimming in the river with Takeru and his sister Mikako, and helping his grandmother and mother in the kitchen, since Mikako was such a hopeless cook. 

On the day before they were due to leave, Tooru's grandmother called him and Takeru into her sewing room, and asked each of them to close their eyes and hold out their arms. She laid a soft package in Tooru's arms, and when he opened his eyes and unfolded the tissue paper, he found a brightly-coloured yukata inside.

"Wow!" Takeru said, holding up his own, which had patterns of boats printed on it. 

"Grandma, did you make these?" Tooru asked, leaning over to kiss her cheek. 

She smiled at them indulgently. "For my handsome boys."

Tooru grinned. "Thank you, it's wonderful."

"Thanks, great-grandma!" 

She clapped her hands at them impatiently. "Come on, let me see you put them on."

Laughing, Tooru shooed Takeru into the bedroom they were sharing, and the two peeled off their t-shirts and shorts and wrapped themselves in the fresh, soft fabric of their new yukata. Tooru crouched down to help Takeru tie his, then cursed as Takeru slammed the door aside and rushed out to show it off, leaving Tooru crouched on the floor half dressed. With a sigh, Tooru reached over the slide the door closed once more, then looked down at his own bare chest, sudden inspiration striking him. He slid the yukata down off his shoulders and reached for his phone. 

It took him several tries to get a photo he liked, but when he went to send it to Iwaizumi, his shyness returned, and he quickly deleted the message without sending it.

—

Iwa-senpai: hey are u back yet??

Tooru☆: Almost!

Iwa-senpai: can u meet up? Playground?

Tooru☆: I can't :( 

Iwa-senpai: :(  
Iwa-senpai: tomorrow?

Tooru☆: Is there practice tomorrow?

Iwa-senpai: nah no practice on mondays remember

Tooru☆: Oh…  
Tooru☆: Then I think I'll have to watch Takeru   
Tooru☆: Tomorrow night I'm going to the fireworks festival with Fujimoto and the others

Iwa-senpai: ohhh  
Iwa-senpai: maybe i'll see u there

Tooru☆: Really? :D  
Tooru☆: Will Iwa-senpai wear a yukata~

Iwa-senpai: nah  
Iwa-senpai: wait  
Iwa-senpai: are u wearing one?

Tooru grinned and set down his phone. Since he'd chickened out of sending the photo to Iwaizumi, a part of him wanted to keep his outfit a secret. When they arrived home at last, there was so much unpacking and laundry and cooking to do, that Tooru entirely forgot to text Iwaizumi again. It wasn't until he crawled into bed finally that he thought to check his phone one more time. Iwaizumi had texted him a couple of hours earlier. 

Iwa-senpai: alright then keep your secrets  
Iwa-senpai: see u tomorrow x

With a delighted gasp, Tooru clutched his phone to his chest. He was so excited to see Iwaizumi again that he thought he might _burst_. 

—

It was just getting dark when Tooruu met his friends at the gates to the park. The girls cooed over his new yukata, and Tooru made sure to complement something about each of them—Satou-chan's braid, Matsumoto's obi, Fujimoto's flower crown—before they set off as a group into the festival. 

The girls shepherded Tooru from one stall to the next, picking out treats to sample or trying to win goldfish. Tooru tried to join in with their merriment, but he was painfully aware of his phone in his pocket. Iwaizumi had texted him a few hours earlier, saying only, _see you later_ , and Tooru's stomach was in knots at the prospect of seeing him again. 

"What's the matter, Tooru-kun?"

Tooru looked up. Fujimoto stood in front of him, while the other girls had moved away and were cooing over little painted carvings of animals. "Fujimoto-chan," he said, smiling. 

"You keep looking at your watch," she said, frowning. "Is something wrong?"

"No!" he said quickly. "Of course not."

She smiled and reached out to take hold of his arm, clinging to him tightly. "Tooru-kun, will you buy me takoyaki? I spent all my money already."

Tooru hesitated. "Well…"

"Please?" she wheedled.

Tooru laughed. "Alright. Where's the takoyaki stall?" 

"Back that way," Fujimoto said, pointing. 

They turned together and began to make their way between the crowded stalls. "What have you been doing with your summer so far?" Fujimoto asked. 

"Ah, well, we went to see my grandparents last week," Tooru said. "They live up in the mountains, so it's not too hot there."

Fujimoto smiled. "That sounds nice. It was so hot here. Who did you go with? Your parents?"

He nodded. "And my older sister and my nephew."

Her eyes widened. "You have a nephew?" 

"He's nine," Tooru said. "My sister is a lot older than me."

"Ooh, so you've been an uncle for a long time," she said. "It must be like being a big brother."

Tooru shrugged. "Do you have siblings, Fujimoto-chan?"

They chatted for a few minutes longer until they reached the stall. There was a shooting gallery on the other side of the path, and as Tooru and Fujimoto lined up to wait to be served, a roar went up from a rowdy group of boys gathered in front of the shooting gallery.

Fujimoto huffed without turning around. "So noisy. I wonder what school they go to."

Tooru glanced around, his eyes widening when he realised that the boys looked familiar. "It's the volleyball team," he said, his heart starting to pound. He couldn't see Iwaizumi, but if the volleyball team were here, then surely their captain couldn't be far.

"I don't know why you hang out with those boys, Tooru-kun," Fujimoto said in a huffy voice. "They didn't even win their last tournament. They're not _that_ special."

Tooru cast an annoyed glance her way. "That doesn't matter," he said crossly. "Besides, they might win the next one."

"But you're not even part of the team," Fujimoto complained, tugging on his arm. "Come on."

"Yes I am," he said, standing his ground. "I'm the manager."

Fujimoto stared at him. "What? You joined the volleyball team?" She wrinkled her nose. "What's the point if you can't even play?"

Scowling, Tooru wrenched his arm out of her grip. "Thank you for inviting me, Fujimoto-chan," he said coldly, "but I think I'd rather go and join my friends on the volleyball team."

Her face crumpled. "Tooru-kun--"

"Oikawa," he said coldly, taking a step away from her. "Goodbye, Fujimoto-chan." Turning his back on her, Tooru threaded his way through the crowd to where the volleyball team was crowded around. None of them had noticed him yet, and he had a brief flash of panic that he might not be welcome among them; he feared, deep down, that Fujimoto was right, he _wasn't_ really one of them. How could he be? He'd never practiced with them, or played in a match with them. He'd only been their official manager for two weeks. It wasn't nearly enough time for him to really belong.

"Oikawa!"

He stiffened at the sound of his name, but then a friendly face appeared in front of him. It was Yuda, one of the third years, who was always unfailingly kind to Tooru. 

"You're here!" Yuda said, beaming, and threw his arm around Tooru's shoulders. "Come and see, Iwaizumi's practically won all the prizes."

"Yuda, don't exaggerate," someone said, laughing. "Oh, hey, Oikawa!" 

A few more people turned to greet him, and Tooru beamed at them all as they swallowed him easily into the group. And then he finally saw Iwaizumi. 

Tooru's whole body lit up like a match at the sight of him, his heart swelling as he saw Iwaizumi turn and look at him, the slow smile that spread across his face. Turning away briefly, Iwaizumi fired several more shots with the BB gun, knocking down a handful of targets, then had a brief exchange with the stall owner that resulted in him being handed a huge blue teddy bear. Having collected his prize, he walked over to Tooru. 

"Hey."

"Hello, Iwa-senpai."

"Captain, we're gonna go catch fish!" 

Iwaizumi glanced at Matsukawa who'd spoken. "We'll catch up," he said with a lazy grin. 

Matsukawa's eyes slid across to Tooru briefly, then he shrugged and turned away with the rest of the group. Kageyama lingered for a moment, watching them with his dark, frowning gaze, but he turned away when Tooru stuck his tongue out at him.

"Alright, where to?" Iwaizumi said, drawing his attention. 

"Was that alright?" Tooru asked in a hushed voice. "Won't they be annoyed with me?"

"Don't be silly," Iwaizumi said, putting an arm around his shoulders and hugging him close. The hug was only brief, but they both leaned into it, and Tooru turned his head so that he could inhale Iwaizumi's scent. "I like your yukata," Iwaizumi murmured.

Tooru shivered. Iwaizumi was wearing one too, though he had the sleeves tied back, and Tooru could feel the warmth of Iwaizumi's bare arm pressing against him. He looked much better in his yukata than Tooru did, filling it out properly, where Tooru just looks skinny. But there was no denying the way Iwaizumi held him, the heat in his voice, and the weight of his desire made Tooru feel electric, unstoppable. "Did you miss me, Iwa-senpai?" he asked, grinning up at Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi laughed and pushed him away. "So cocky," he said, though his hand strayed up to ruffle Tooru's hair despite his complaint. "Come on, let's find somewhere to talk."

"The fireworks are going to start soon."

Iwaizumi grinned. "Good."

They made their way to the edge of the park, then they began to climb the steep backstreets cut into the hillside. Tooru was glad he'd done so much hiking in the mountains the previous week, so that wasn't a complete sweaty, gasping mess by the time they finally came to a stop. They'd come to a lookout spot on the side of the hill, a few streets above the park. Since it was so dark, there was nobody else there, and the two of them stretched out on the grass together to wait for the fireworks to begin. 

As soon as they'd got settled, Tooru put his hand down in the grass beside him, and his breath caught when his fingers brushed Iwaizumi's. Slowly, Iwaizumi covered Tooru's hand with his own. 

"I really did miss you," Iwaizumi said softly.

Tooru shivered. "I did too," he whispered.

Iwaizumi licked his lips. "Can I kiss you?"

"Please."

Their lips met eagerly. Iwaizumi's lips were chapped and warm, and he cupped Tooru's cheek as he stroked their tongues together softly. A shiver rolled over Tooru in response. With a quiet groan, he reached out to clutch at Iwaizumi's yukata, clinging closer to him. 

Suddenly, there was a burst of colour in the sky, and Tooru pulled away from him with a gasp just as the boom of the first firework reached them. "Look, Iwa-chan!" he whispered, pointing. 

Iwaizumi laughed. "Did you just call me _Iwa-chan_?"

"Shh!" Tooru hissed, cuddling closer to him, his fact rapt as he watched the fireworks unfolding like flowers blooming in the sky above them. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"Yeah," Iwaizumi murmured, slipping his arm around Tooru's waist. "It is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for supporting this story and me! :D Please keep reading and commenting and sharing the link with your friends, it means so much to me to still have iwaoi folks to chat with after 5 amazing years in this fandom! ♥

**Author's Note:**

> [find me on twitter](https://twitter.com/notallbees/status/1256654149707595781) | [my iwaoi fics](https://archiveofourown.org/works?utf8=%E2%9C%93&commit=Sort+and+Filter&work_search%5Bsort_column%5D=revised_at&include_work_search%5Brelationship_ids%5D%5B%5D=1329922&work_search%5Bother_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bexcluded_tag_names%5D=&work_search%5Bcrossover%5D=&work_search%5Bcomplete%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_from%5D=&work_search%5Bwords_to%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_from%5D=&work_search%5Bdate_to%5D=&work_search%5Bquery%5D=&work_search%5Blanguage_id%5D=&fandom_id=758208&user_id=notallbees)
> 
>   
> y'all know the drill, writing chaptered fics is craazy hard. i love and appreciate all your encouragement! :D


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